No Laughter For His Medicine
by SpeciosaClade31
Summary: Kate and Rick are about to celebrate their engagement, but a certain Dr. Motorcycle-Boy may have something to say about it. Don't worry. Nothing too crazy going on here! In my world, they will always get their, well, always ;-)
1. Chapter 1

_**So I have absolutely never in my life done anything like this. I read all of these amazing stories and always think of random ideas for one of my own, but I'm always too chicken to write one. This story has been swimming in my head for a while now. I had intended for it to only be a one shot, but I keep coming up with stuff as I write and it ends up adding to it. It won't be too long though. Like I said, this is my very first attempt at this, so I'll need reviews, suggestions and a few pointers to keep the story moving. Just go easy on me! I'll get the hang of it with some good guidance! **_

_**It's set in season 6 and for the most part completely AU. Unless Marlowe (the genius behind all of this) invades my brain at some point in my sleep and steals my story. I'd be OK with that as long as I get a writer's credit and a guest appearance on the show. **_

_**I guess I should post the story now, huh? **_

* * *

That laugh. Her laugh. Kate's laugh. He hadn't heard it in over 2 years, but he was never able to forget it. Of course she'd be here on what could possibly be one of the biggest nights of his career. Part of him wondered if it was fate. Could it be that after all these years, he still had feelings for her? Maybe this was a sign. A sign that this would all work out and they would be able to have the chance that they deserved. Timing was off back then, but now he was ready to settle. Now he was ready to stay for good. He was ready to be what she wanted and needed. Yep. This was going to be his night for sure.

There it was again. That laugh. Her laugh. Kate's laugh. She had one of those laughs that made everyone else around her join in and begin laughing just as hard. Sure he'd heard it a few times, but he was never the person...that guy...that was actually able to make her laugh like that. No matter how hard he tried, he was never able to get that particular laugh out of her.

There were the times when she would be on the phone with...that guy. She had always told him that it was something with work, but who laughs like that when dealing with a homicide? There were those 'girl nights in' where she and Lanie would open up a bottle or 2 of wine and somehow the conversation would always end up being about...that guy. Didn't she need to go and stick her hand in a dead guy or something? There were those extremely rare times when they would be out together and she would be giving a recap of her day and something funny came up about...that guy. Did she really have to talk about work and ...that guy...all of the time? And then there were those few times where he had gone to surprise her at work. He always managed to walk in just as she, the other 2 detectives and...that guy...were laughing about something. Didn't they need to go out and find murderers? Did he really need to be there all day, everyday? Didn't...that guy...need to go write a book? Perhaps one about someone else's girlfriend.

The restaurant wasn't really all that crowded, but there was a large group of people waiting to be seated gathered around the bar. Of course the bar had to be the place where the laugh was coming from. He glanced over trying to find a spot where he would be able to sit and wait for the rest of his dinner party to come, and to see if he could spot her through the crowd, but that particular group had taken up most of the space. He thought about trying to find her, but decided against it. He didn't really feel like trying to make his way through a crowd of people. What were all of these people doing here on a Tuesday night anyway? He'll come back in a bit and try to find her. Maybe the crowd will ease up as people get seated for dinner.

He makes his way over to the Maitre d' to see how long his wait would be seeing as how tables would be filling up rather quickly with the large crowd at the bar.

"Excuse me. I have a reservation for 4 this evening. The rest of my party is running a little late, and I didn't want the large crowd at the bar to take up most of the tables." He didn't mean to sound snooty, but he was thrown off a bit by hearing that laugh. Ugh. That damn laugh.

The Maitre d' looks over at the bar, down to the reservation book and back up at the obviously annoyed man in front of him. "No worries, sir. That particular group will be retreating to our party room for a private event. Rest assured that you and your party will have a table to enjoy for the evening."

"Thank you," he said still a bit annoyed. "Do you know what the party is for?"

"An engagement celebration. I am unable to give out any further information. If you'll excuse me, sir. I need to check on the party room." said the Maitre D as he walked away.

Hmmm. Engagement celebration. Nah. Definitely not _her_ party. She was probably just one of the guests of the newly engaged couple. Marriage wasn't an option for her anyway. They had never really sat down and discussed it, but judging by the way she would end up brushing it off and changing the subject fairly quickly, he knew it was a subject that she wasn't very interested in. Maybe when the crowd moved towards the back room he'd be able to catch a glimpse of her. Maybe they would be able to go chat for a bit. It's been 2 years but maybe, just maybe they could try again and get it right this time. He quickly gets pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of his name.

"Dr. Davidson! There you are. Our deepest apologies for being late. You know how traffic around the city is around this time of night."

"No worries, Dr. Rodriguez," exclaims Josh shaking hands with the 3 other gentlemen that just walked in. "I've only been here a few minutes myself. I was going to wait at the bar, but it seems there's a private party going on in the back room this evening and they've monopolized the entire bar while they wait for their event to begin." Josh smiles as he turns to show the 3 men the bar area, but the group is now gone. Obviously they've moved on to their party. Ugh. Of course. Just like 2 years ago, the timing was off. He'd have to put that in the back of his head for now. This meeting could be the biggest of his career. One that could bring him home permanently and perhaps give him exactly what he needs to win her back for good.

* * *

**Ok, soooooo that's it so far. I'm just gonna go...over there.**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Wow! Just...wow! Thank you so much for the follows, favorites and the reviews! When I woke up this morning and saw my inbox flooded, I screamed a big ol' "SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!" in excitement! I scared the dog and the husband in the process, but they got over it! Thanks again for the encouraging words and for getting into the story. It made it a lot easier to write this next chapter. _**

**_It starts off a little slow, still with Josh, but I urge you to stick around to the end. It gets...interesting for our Dr. Motorcycle-Dork. Uh, I mean Boy ;-) I've got Chapter 3 pretty much mapped out, just gotta sit and write it._**

**_Enter witty I don't own Castle or its characters disclaimer here_**

**_Keep calm and Caskett on!_**

* * *

After a brief introduction of the other two men by Dr. Rodriguez, the party of four are shown to their table. Lucky for Josh, their table is relatively close to the back party room and he is able to grab the seat that gives him a perfect view of the doors that lead into the room. The windows on the doors are draped with curtains blocking anyone from getting a peak inside if they were to try to walk by and the Maitre d' seems to be stationed outside of the entryway holding a clipboard with a few sheets of paper. No doubt to check off the names of guests that will be allowed in. 'Really? for an engagement party?' Josh thought to himself completely oblivious as to why and who this was actually for. All he focused on was that if Kate were to make her way out for any reason, he'd be able to spot her immediately giving him the chance to make his presence known. Since there doesn't seem to be any movement coming from that direction at that moment, Josh brings himself back to his own gathering and tries to focus on the reason why he's here in the first place.

Dr. Michael Rodriguez, begins the conversation with the three other men addressing the two older gentlemen first. A Mr. Steven Robertson and a Mr. Paul Walters turn towards the doctor as they hear their names. "Steve. Paul. I'm glad we're able to finally sit down for this meeting. Not only is this venture completely worthwhile, but it would be brilliant press for the hospital and the rest of our staff. This could be something that puts us on the map as one of the premiere hospitals not only here in Manhattan, but perhaps on the entire east coast. Having your full financial support behind us is exactly what we need to get the ball rolling on this project."

"Yes Dr. Davidson," Mr. Walters says as he turns towards Josh. "Michael here has been telling us about all of the wonderful work you've done the past few years with Doctors Without Borders. This proposal for a pro-bono project to bring children with severe illnesses here to the United States and have them treated sounds like a wonderful idea."

Mr Robertson immediately chimes in. "I beg to differ, Paul. I've heard about a few projects like this and sometimes things didn't seem to work out the way people had intended. The necessary medical supplies sent back with the children to continue their treatment and recovery were stolen and/or sold off to the highest bidder the second they were returned to their countries. I'm not sure if handing over that kind of money for this little venture is a risk I'm willing to take. While the idea itself seems extremely noble, I just don't see how this would turn a profit for us. All I see at the end of the year is a huge loss."

Josh turns to Mr. Robertson with as big of a smile as he could conjure up trying not to show how annoyed he is at the man and says, "Steve. May I call you Steve?" Not really waiting for an answer from the older gentleman. "I do understand where you're coming from regarding the financial aspect, but I assure you that the moral rewards that go along with such a project far outweigh whatever financial issues you may or may not have. Besides, if other investors get word of this project, they may feel inclined to not only contribute now, but also look at any future investments within the rest of your company." Josh winks at Dr. Rodriguez as Mr. Robertson smiles and shakes his head.

"You weren't kidding, Mike. When you said this kid was persistent, you neglected to mention stubborn as well. Alright, kid. You've got my attention. Let's order a few drinks, get some food, and see where the rest of this evening takes us. You've got some time to convince me, Josh."

As the waiter finishes taking their orders, Josh looks up to see the door to the back room swing open. Up until that moment, he had forgotten all about Kate being at the same restaurant. His heart skipped a bit as he stared intently at the door hoping that it was her coming out. The lights in the area had made it a bit difficult for him to see exactly who had walked out, but as the figure moved closer towards his direction, he realized it was a familiar face. A face that he really wasn't too keen on seeing at this particular moment.

"Castle?" Josh says as he is standing up making an attempt to stare directly into the man's eyes.

Rick stops a few feet from the table a bit confused and says, "Josh. How nice to see you." Completely stone-faced with absolutely no emotion on his face whatsoever.

The three men sitting at the table, look between the two gentlemen noting the obvious tension when Steve stands up, extends a hand towards Rick and says, "Hey, Paul! Look who it is? Ricky Castle, my boy! How the hell are ya? Still writing those books about that hot detective you've been following around?"

This makes Josh cringe and makes him lose his brain to mouth filter for a moment. "How the hell do you two know each other?!"

Dr. Rodriguez coughs up the sip of water he had just taken as a wave of shock and embarrassment washes over him. "Dr. Davidson?! Have you lost your mind and your manners?"

Realizing what just happened, Rick turns on that ol' Castle grin of his reciprocating Steve's handshake. Looking Josh straight in the eye, Rick says, "Oh that's alright. Im used to that from him. Stevie, Paulie and I go way back. We're on a few charity boards together and I've got some stock invested in their company. I guess you could say we're old friends." Rick laughs as Josh's brows furrow a bit as he hears the info just given to him.

Paul stands up to give Rick a handshake and a "man hug" as he asks, "So what brings you here this evening, Ricky? Out on a hot date with one of the many women that you seem to attract?" Paul chuckles to himself clearly having no clue about Kate. This brings another wide grin to Rick's face as he thinks about the different ways this conversation could go. Whatever way, he knew he was going to enjoy it.

"Ahhh, Paul. Funny you should ask. I am actually here with a woman, but not the way you think. She means much more to me than you could possibly understand. It's been that way for about 2 years now." Rick couldn't help but turn and look directly at Josh when he said that last part. He was going to milk this and get as much enjoyment out of this conversation as possible. Oh, just wait, Motorcycle-Boy. Just. You. Wait.

Steve lets out a big laugh and shakes his head as he says, "Ricky Castle has become a one girl writer, huh? No way! I'll believe it when I see it! So who's the lucky lady that's managed to snag one of New York's top ten eligible bachelors?"

Josh is still standing there clenching his fists trying not to knock Castle on his ass, Rick, Paul and Steve are chuckling about something and Dr. Rodriguez is still sitting down confused as hell. Meanwhile, no one seems to have noticed the woman that has just exited the doors to the party room. Kate, not seeing Josh at all, but notices Rick's broad shoulders begins to walk over towards his direction. She'd know her fiancé's silhouette anywhere. "Mmmm...my fiancé," as she smiles that 1000-watt smile and laughs that incredible laugh that she saves just for him.

Dressed in a deep purple cocktail dress, 4-inch black peep-toed pumps and her hair down and curled in her signature 'Kate Beckett hair-porn' style that Alexis loves to call it, she makes her way over to where Rick is standing. Still not seeing Josh, she gently presses her hand into Rick's back to get his attention. "Hey there, handsome. I was beginning to think you got lost."

"Aahh. Ask and ye shall receive, Gentlemen." Instantly looking towards Josh's face as his fiancée spoke, Castle realizes that Josh has abso-freakin-lutely no clue as to who just walked over to the table. He had purposely reached for her left hand so that her ring was visible to anyone looking at her. He turns towards Paul and Steve, then back at Josh giving him the biggest Castle smirk he's ever mustered up in his entire life as he says, "Please allow me the honor of introducing my beautiful fiancée. The extraordinary Detective Katherine Beckett."

* * *

**_Is it really corny of me that I giggled to myself as I wrote that last chapter? _**

**_Picture Rick's face at the end of "Scared to Death" as he counts down to midnight. That's the face I see him giving Josh. Yup. That's definitely it ;-)_**

**_Interesting fact: It's 'fiancé' when the woman is referring to the man and it's 'fiancée' when the man refers to the woman. _**

**_Oh, and can someone inform my husband that him telling me that I'm being too mean to Josh isn't a valid statement in my life? _**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thanks again everyone for the reviews, follows and faves! I had a blast writing that last chapter, so I'm really happy you enjoyed it! _**

**_This one was a challenge, but I hope I did it justice! I really love this show and its 2 main characters, so trying to stay within their voices is a bit of a challenge. Since the story itself is AU, I figured going a little OOC isn't too terrible. Besides, I'm not Marlowe. If I was, Vaughn wouldn't exist because he would've actually eaten the poisoned food, Stack would've kicked rocks all the way back to DC at the end of "The Human Factor" because Kate said, "Not interested." And this story would've been the season 5 finale :-)_**

**_A girl could dream, right? *le sigh*_**

* * *

Wait...**WHAT**?! Oh for the love of...Did he really just say...? This guy! This stupid son of a bit...

Not allowing any time for a reaction from Josh, as well as trying not to let out the world's most maniacal laugh, Rick immediately turns Kate to face Paul and Steve. He positions her so that Dr. Motorcycle Dork can now see her AND her left hand, but she's still unable to see him. Oh how he is loving every moment of this! "Kate, I'd like you to meet a few business associates of mine. Mr. Paul Walters and Mr. Steven Robertson."

Still blushing from the introduction that he had given the gentlemen as she arrived at the table, Kate smiles as she reaches out for a handshake. "Oh, hi! I'm K..."

"KATE?!" God she looks gorgeous! He had never seen her quite so dressed up before. Was it even possible for her to look even more beautiful 2 years later? Ignoring everyone around him, including Castle who is still holding her left hand, he begins to make his way over to her looking like he's about to grab her for one of those epic reunion hugs and kisses.

Kate, a little shocked and confused, sees the look on Josh's face as he makes his way towards her. She immediately puts up her right hand to make sure that his epic reunion scene doesn't happen. Still grasping Rick's hand, she takes a huge step back so that he is unable to touch her. "Josh? What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Everyone now turns towards Josh. Not really happy with what Josh was about to pull, Rick has switched his Cheshire grin to a glare that could cut through steel. Knowing how upset Rick has just gotten, Kate briefly lets go of his hand so that she can loop her arm around his reassuring him that she is with him and Josh's presence will do nothing to change that. Paul and Steve, obviously sensing something, are now looking between Rick, Kate and Josh trying to figure out the story between these three people, and Dr. Rodriguez has now stood up trying to figure out what is going on. "How do you all know each other? Can someone please explain what the hell is going on here?! I want answers, Dr. Davison and I want them now."

The obvious commotion in the back of the restaurant has some of the other patrons looking around, murmuring to themselves and pointing towards Rick and Kate as they clearly began to recognize the couple. What wasn't helping the situation was the fact that some of the press that had been invited to cover the engagement party had started to make their way towards the back room just as all of this was going on. The maitre d' quickly jumped into action ushering the press into the room while the manager had made his way over to see what was going on.

"Is there a problem here, Mr. Castle? Ms. Beckett?"

"Nothing we can't handle, Jeff. Thank you. I'll be sure to find you if we need your help with anything."

Giving one last glance to everyone standing around the table, the manager nods at Rick and Kate and hesitantly walks away. He has a feeling that he should go prepare for...something.

"Kate. Please." Josh, eyeing her up and down, pleads as he takes another step towards her. "God you look so incredible. Let's go somewhere we can be alone and talk." Instead of motioning to grab her free hand, he makes a daring move to grab the arm that's still linked with Rick's. He is either really dumb, pretty deaf or just purposely ignoring the ring on her finger and Castle's announcement.

Rick has now completely tensed up and standing a lot straighter at this bold move. Taking a step in Josh's direction making sure he never loses contact with Kate, he says in a firm voice, "You know what, Josh. This really isn't the best time f..."

Snapping his head towards Castle cutting him off mid sentence, "I wasn't talking to you, Castle. This is between myself and Kate."

Trying to be as civil as possible towards him, Kate softly says, "No, Josh. This," as she motions between the 2 of them, "Doesn't exist. It hasn't for 2 years. Things are very different now and I've moved on. I suggest you do the same." Turning towards the three men still standing there, Kate nods and says, "It was a pleasure meeting you, gentlemen. If you will excuse us, Rick and I have guests waiting for us at our engagement party." Kate tugs on Rick's arm motioning for him to begin walking away. She just wants to forget about this for the moment and enjoy the evening with their family and friends. Perhaps they can discuss it at a different time. Tonight is not going to be that night.

"Oh, so it's 'Rick' now? Kate, you can't be serious. Him?" Pointing in Castle's direction. "This playboy writer pretending to be a cop is who you've chosen? How could you even think of being with him after all he's done to you? After all of the danger that he's put you through? For God sakes, Kate, this idiot got you shot! Or have you forgotten all of that and how _I_ was the one that saved your life that day."

Kate gives Josh a look of complete disgust. The nerve of him bringing that up right now! Especially in front of total strangers. Up until that obvious jab at her, she was almost willing to meet with him one day to put their relationship in the past once and for all. But not now. Not after this. He just took it way too far. Not willing to dignify anything that he just said with a response, Rick and Kate simply turn their backs and begin to walk away towards the party room. Josh recognizing that he's not winning this battle, and not willing to go down without a fight, he tries to pull out one last stop. "But you owe me an explanation. You owe me at least that much, Kate."

Kate snaps back around, still linked with Rick, taking a few steps so that she's close enough to Josh to look him in the eye. "That's enough! **I. Owe. You. Nothing.** You have absolutely no right to bring any of that up or pass judgement on something that you can't possibly understand. We're simply asking you to respect us and let it go. This isn't the time or the place. Do you see this?" Kate asks as she holds up her engagement ring. "This is my future. You are my past. It's time you accept that and move on. Goodbye, Josh."

Standing there with his tail between his legs, Josh watches as Kate turns and walks away arm in arm with Castle. Never once during that entire exchange of words did she let go of Rick. Right before they reach the door to the party room they stop to exchange a few words. 'Has she changed her mind? Is she coming back to me?' Josh thinks to himself as he stands there hoping that she's coming back to him. But all he sees is Kate looking up into Rick's eyes as he softly cups her cheeks, leaning down to give her a soft kiss on the lips. She smiles that 1000-watt smile and lets out a laugh as Rick whispers something in her ear.

That laugh. Her laugh. Kate's laugh.

"This isn't over, Kate!" Josh says one more time right before she disappears behind the door. She never looked back in his direction.

_This isn't over..._

* * *

**_Yeah, no really, it's not. I was actually going to end it there and write a whole other story about the party, but there's room for a little more here. Besides, we need the reactions of everyone inside the room to everything that just happened. Plus the 3 dudes are still just kinda sitting at the table wondering wtf just happened lol _**

**_Keep reviewing! And if you have any ideas or anything you'd like to see, let me know! I'm down for anything. I'm having too much fun with this to put it to rest yet ;-)_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**You guys are awesome! Such amazing support from you all! I really think we have the best and most encouraging fandom out there! **_

_**Here's Chapter 4. I'm not gonna lie. It's long, but with good reason. I'm setting some good things up, so please, please, please be patient! A few people have asked for "the gang" to get involved, so this is setting things up for that. Just stay with me and I promise I'll get you guys there! **_

**Still waiting on my invitation from Marlowe. I'd probably get a letter from Hogwarts first. Happy reading :-)**

* * *

Kate and Rick enter the party room where they're immediately ambushed by Paula. She is clearly not happy at their absence since she was getting hounded by the press who were not only looking to make their evening deadlines, but also looking for information as to the incident that had just taken place outside. "There you are! Where the hell have you been? Either of you want to tell my why you disappeared for a bit and why I'm getting asked questions about an argument with you and some guy?"

"Paula, please. Can we just have a few more minutes away from everyone? I promise we'll explain later, but we just need a few minutes to ourselves. As far as what they're asking about, please instruct them that they were invited here to cover an engagement party and that's it. Any questions not related to tonight are completely off limits. I will not have it ruined for Kate. Am I making myself clear?"

Realizing that this was something neither of them were interested in talking about at that moment, Paula backs off. Not wanting to push the issue, she nods, "Yeah, Rick. Sure. You guys ok? Do you need anything before we get started?"

"May I have a glass of wine please?" Kate asks.

"Sure, hon. Anything for you, Rick?"

"No thank you. I'm good for now. Just a few moments with my fiancée are all I need."

"No problem. I'll be back with your wine in a sec, Kate. We'll go over some details of how we're going to handle the official announcement and the questions from the press when I get back. Once that's out of the way, we can get this party started!" Paula winks at Rick and Kate as she walks off to find that glass of wine.

As soon as Paula's out of sight, Kate turns into Rick and hugs him as tight as possible. She did this at moments when she was feeling a bit vulnerable. It was her way of letting him know how much she really needed him without actually using words. He'd stand like this for as long as she needed him to, even if he never said a word. It was always her that spoke first giving Rick the OK that she was feeling better. Finally relaxed, Kate looks up at Rick's eyes, "I don't want to talk about this right now. Let's just prepare for the announcement and press so we can enjoy the rest of the night. I don't want anything or anyone spoiling this for us. This is too important to us."

"Whatever you need, Kate. I just want you to enjoy everything tonight. No distractions."

They share one last embrace before Paula returns. "Thank you, Paula. I appreciate it." Kate says as Paula hands her a glass of wine.

_"So here's how things have been planned out regarding the official announcement and how we'll be addressing the questions from the press..."_

* * *

Still standing next to the table are Dr. Rodriguez, Mr. Walters and Mr. Robertson. Josh is still standing, just staring off towards the direction of the door when Mr. Walters begins to speak. "I'd say that our evening has come to a close. Wouldn't you agree, gentlemen?"

"Absolutely, Paul. I couldn't agree more. Michael, I think I've seen all I need to see here this evening." Mr. Robertson turns towards Josh and says, "I'd say that our business here is done." Without even offering a farewell handshake to Josh, the 2 businessmen walk away.

"Dr. Davidson. Would you care to explain just what the hell just happened here? Do you even realize what you've done? Josh...are you listening? Hello?"

Finally acknowledging Dr. Rodriguez's presence, Josh turns around. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"Josh. Do you even realize that you just blew a major deal not only for yourself, but for the entire hospital? Your antics this evening, towards another man's fiancée, are completely inexcusable. You just lost us the only two investors that had shown an interest in this project. I can promise you that the board will not take this lightly and you can guarantee that there will be some serious repercussions. My office, tomorrow morning, at 9. Be prepared to deal with your actions, Dr. Davidson." Dr. Rodriguez has gathered his belongings making his way to stand up and leave the restaurant. "I'll take care of the check on my way out."

Left standing there, Josh tries to make some sense of the entire situation. His project, the investors, what Dr. Rodriguez had said, Kate, Castle, their...engagement?! With only one thing on his mind, Josh makes his way towards the doors to the party room still wanting answers, but he is quickly stopped by the maitre d'.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but this is a private party and only those on the guest list are allowed in. I've already been informed that you are not listed here. Should you make an attempt to enter, you will be removed...with force."

Seeing as how the maitre d' was not about to budge, Josh takes out a hundred dollar bill from his wallet to see if he could bribe the man. "Look. I know you're only doing what you're told, but I'm sure you can be persuaded a bit? I really do need to speak with Kate."

"Ms. Beckett," really enforcing the 'Ms. Beckett', "And Mr. Castle do not wish to be disturbed further. I suggest you show a little courtesy towards them, as well as their family and friends and just leave before things get out of hand here. Please do not embarrass yourself any further by getting thrown out."

"Fine." Josh turns making his way towards the exit when he decides to sit at the bar instead. He'll wait all night if he has to, but he will talk to Kate no matter what it takes.

* * *

Paula, Rick and Kate are about to enter the main party room from a side hallway they've been waiting in. "OK, kids. You ready to get this show on the road?" They both smile and nod allowing her to enter first as they follow her smiling and walking hand in hand. The cameras start going off as soon as they stepped in. Kate's a little taken aback by all of the attention as Rick just soaks it all up as usual. Looking out into the crowd, Kate tries to find a familiar face to focus on to settle her nerves. Instead of one familiar face, she sees 7 smiling faces all standing together applauding them. Her dad, Martha, Alexis, Lanie, Javi, Kevin and Jenny are all there for them on one of the biggest nights of their lives. It seems fitting considering they're the ones that had been with them from the very beginning. Ok. Now she can breathe a bit. Paula walks over to the front of the room where the DJ was set up and takes the microphone to begin her speech. Kate and Rick are standing a little off to the side giving Paula the room she needs to work her publicist magic.

"Good evening Ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to thank you all for joining us this evening. 6 years ago, needing some new inspiration, Richard Castle began a partnership with the NYPD's 12th precinct following a detective by the name of Katherine Beckett. What Rick found in Kate was so much more than inspiration for a character in a book and what they have now goes far beyond any ordinary partnership, friendship and relationship that I have ever seen. So without further ado, it is with great pleasure that on behalf of Rick and Kate, I am able to announce their engagement to you all this evening!" Paula looks at them giving them the signal to join her in the center of the room as the guests begin clapping for them. When everyone in the room has a glass in hand, Paula raises her glass as she smiles giving a nod and a wink to Rick and Kate. "Let's all raise our glasses as we toast this amazing couple. Ladies and Gentlemen, to Rick and Kate!"

All of the party guests follow suit and respond, "Rick and Kate!"

Forgetting the camera flashes, the questions from the press, and even the applause and cheers from their guests, Rick immediately turns to Kate and pulls her in for a kiss. Pulling apart after a brief moment, he leans his forehead to hers and says, "You, Ms. Beckett, are the most beautiful woman in this room."

"You're not so bad yourself, Mr. Castle." Kate says as she leans in for another kiss. Noticing that the reporters are circling around them, Kate gives him a nudge with her shoulder indicating that they should get moving. "Let's go get this over and done with. The faster we do that, the faster we can enjoy the evening with our guests." Barely able to finish her sentence, the reporters and cameramen are all over them with what seems like one never ending sentence.

_"Have you set a date? Do you know where you'll be having it? How many guests? Are you going all out for this one? Any hesitation because this will be his third marriage? Is there a prenup? Will this be your last marriage? Will you still be working together? What does this mean for the Nikki Heat series? Will you be changing your last name? Are you planning on having kids? How does your daughter feel about you getting married again? Who was the man that you were seen arguing with right before you came in? Are your ex wives invited? How was the proposal? Have you picked a dress?"_

Ruh-roh.

Rick looked straight over to Paula who was already in motion towards the reporter. Lucky for them no one else had heard his question, so Rick and Kate were able to immediately step into action answering as many questions as they could so that Paula could get security to escort him out. Hoping no one saw the reporter being tossed out, Paula rejoined Rick and Kate as the couple finished answering any remaining questions.

"Ok, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sure you all have enough information and photographs for your news outlets and you'll all be able to make your deadlines this evening. It's time for the happy couple to join their guests and begin their evening. If you need anything else, please feel free to contact my offices. Thank you and have a good night!" With that, Paula had security escort every last photographer and reporter not just out of the party room, but completely out of the restaurant so that no one had a chance to sneak back in. Little did anyone know that a pretty pissed off reporter that didn't get any information had remained behind parking himself at the bar next to a man who had looked like he had seen better evenings.

* * *

"Hey, buddy. This seat taken?" The man goes to take the seat without letting Josh respond. "Say, aren't you that guy I saw arguing with that writer and his fiancée earlier? It looked pretty intense. Want to talk about it?"

"Look man, I'm really not in the mood."

"Let me buy you a drink. I'm a great listener and perhaps I could be of some help." The man sticks his hand out as an introduction. "Name's Dennis."

"Look Dennis," Josh turns to the man to give him hell for annoying him when he notices the press badge, audio recorder and a stack of money laying on the bar. He smiles to himself then up at the reporter extending his own hand. "On second thought, I will take you up on that drink."

"Great. Hey, Bartender. I'll need a scotch for myself and whatever my friend..."

"Josh. Dr. Josh Davidson."

"Right. And whatever my friend, Josh here is having. I'll be running a tab, so just keep 'em coming." The bartender sits their drinks on the bar as the 2 men start their conversation. "So, Josh. Tell me about your evening..."

* * *

**_And just when you thought he couldn't be any more of a jerk..._**

**_I actually can't take the credit for the reporter/Josh idea. That one has to go to the husband! After giving him a detailed explanation as to why we have to hate Josh, the husband has now crossed over from the dark side and joined the "Suck It, MotorcycleBoy" fan club. _**

**_Please don't hate me, please don't hate me, please don't hate me..._**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Howdy everyone! First I'd like to apologize for the name I used for the reporter at the end of chapter 4! It was about 3am when I was finishing the chapter up and I wasn't thinking at all. This is most certainly NOT a 3XK story, so I've changed his name. **_

_**I also had a terrible case of 'wtf should I do for the next chapter'itis, hence the delay in getting this updated. I reread the entire story to get some inspiration and after a few minor changes and additions to the previous chapters, I finally got chapter 5 done. Oh and I briefly stopped to write something that popped in my head for the wedding story I've got planned (insert evil grin here). So it's long and there a lot of details in it for some stuff, but that's what was cluttering my brain. If I didn't get it out soon, there would've been no progress whatsoever.**_

_**So, here it is. Please don't hate it too much! Thanks for following and sticking around for the new chapter! You guys are all awesomesauce! **_

_**I still haven't heard from Marlowe...**_

* * *

With the official announcement and press stuff finally out of the way, the party was in full swing and it looked like everyone was really enjoying themselves. Aside from their main circle of friends, the guests included some other members of the 12th as well as Captain Gates and her husband. Mayor Weldon, Judge Markaway and James Patterson were sitting at a table making fun of Alex Conrad who was stuck on trying to find an idea for his next book while their wives tried to defend the poor young writer. Maddie had come with her boyfriend giving Kate a gag gift for the occasion. The maternity T-Shirt had an arrow pointing down to the belly area with a caption that said "Little Castle Babies" on it. This made Kate turn 47 shades of red, but not once did she ever rule out any 'little Castle babies'. Jim nearly choked on his crab puff at the thought of his Katie being pregnant. Many of the execs from Black Pawn had come to show their support as well. After all, without Kate, the Nikki Heat series probably wouldn't even exist. For some odd reason Gina had declined the invitation. She said she had a 'previous engagement' but everyone knew that was a lie. Kate couldn't help but picture her sitting at home alone eating a carton of ice cream crying herself to sleep. Some members from Paula's agency, some of Martha's students, and a few of Rick's business associates made up the rest of the guests. All in all things were a success and everyone was having a great time!

Rick couldn't help but stare at Kate while she was laughing and dancing along with Alexis, Lanie and Jenny out on the dance floor. Sometimes he wondered when he was going to wake up from this dream that seemed way too good to be true. Kate Beckett said yes, and he was going to spend the rest of their lives making sure that she always knew how thankful he was for that. For her. For them. He smiled when he realized that whatever had happened earlier in the evening was far from her mind. They hadn't talked about it yet, but she'll eventually ask him how he ended up standing at a table with her ex boyfriend. He'll tell her his version of the truth only leaving out the part where he had known Josh was standing there as she walked over. Technically he never saw her exit the party room, so he didn't know she was looking for him at that exact moment. Sure he could've sent her a text, but where was the fun in that? She didn't need to know that he had a little fun at Josh's expense. Getting lost in the different ways he could've really stuck it to Josh, Castle is brought back to Earth when Kevin and Javi crept up next to him sandwiching him on either side. Uh-oh. Why did it feel like they were about to interrogate him?

Staring straight ahead and smiling as if they weren't up to anything, Javi went straight into "big brother mode" and began to mess with Castle. "Yo. So, uh we're gonna let you know right now, bro. You hurt Beckett, we will kill you, make it look like an accident, hide your body and no one will be able to find you."

"Javi, man! That's so uncalled for!" Castle was about to thank Kevin when he leaned into him, grabbing the collar of his shirt continuing to mess with him. "I thought we said we'd just cut off his hands so that he'd never be able to type out another book? I know that Lanie said she'd be willing to help us out with that one." Seeing the look on Castle's face prompted a high-five between the boys.

"Guys! Seriously? You know I'd never do anything to hurt her. Especially after how long it took us to get here! Besides, I'm actually more scared of what she'd do to me than anything you guys could come up with." Castle smirked as the 2 boys shook their heads at him.

"Not cool, bro. Low blow, man." They said at the same time. After sharing a quick laugh, it was Javi who spoke up. "In all seriousness, we cannot be happier for you guys. It took a while, but we're glad you both finally woke up and saw what we all saw. Thanks for fighting so hard for our girl, Castle. She deserves to be happy. You both do."

"Thanks for the support, guys. It truly means a lot coming from the two you. Especially when I'll need some great 'best men' to stand up for us on our big day."

Kevin gasped as he heard what Castle was saying. "Dude. Seriously? Us?"

"Why do you looked so surprised? Before I met you guys, I was a grown man acting like a 9-year old on a sugar rush most of the time. Being around the precinct for all of these years forced me to grow up and see that life wasn't always parties and fun. You guys are a huge part of how I've changed and I'll be forever grateful to you for that. So just say you'll both be standing up for me, for us, on our wedding day?"

"I, uh, think I have something in my eye. I need a moment." Javi sniffled and turned around 'fixing his eye' as Kevin and Castle laughed at him. "What? It's dusty in here. C'mon. Let's go get a drink and start planning this century's most epic bachelor party!"

Just as the three boys turned to head over to the open bar, Jeff the restaurant manager made his way over to speak with Rick. "Mr. Castle, may I have a moment? It's regarding the, uh, issue earlier. I can find a private spot where we can talk."

"No need, Jeff. I trust these guys with my life. I'll end up telling them anyway. Right, guys?" Castle looked over to the boys who were confused as to what the manager was talking about.

"Certainly, Mr. Castle. I just wanted to let you know that the man that you were with earlier is still here. He did try to get back here, but David our maitre d' informed him that he was not welcome here. He's just sitting at the bar now, but from what I've heard, he has no intention on leaving until he sees Ms. Beckett."

"Castle? What's going on? Who's he talking about?" Javi stepped forward getting a little concerned.

"Thank you, Jeff. As long as he's not trying to get in here, we should be fine. If he's still at the bar when we're about to leave, then we'll figure something out. Right now I plan on enjoying the rest of my evening with my lovely fiancée. You guys did a great job with everything and judging by the look on her face right now, she's having a great time. No need to stir the pot if you know what I mean."

"Absolutely, sir. Let me know if you need anything else."

As Jeff walks away, Kevin and Javi turn to Castle to find out exactly what this guy was talking about. "Dude, spill it. Who's here that's trying to get in here and talk to Kate? Is she in any danger?"

Castle explained everything that had happened with Josh earlier and seeing the looks on their faces he knew they weren't happy. "I have no idea how to get him away from here without having Kate find out, so I could really use your help. I refuse to allow him anywhere near her tonight, or ever if I have anything to say about it."

"Say anything about what, Castle?" Kate says just as she Lanie, Alexis and Jenny walk off the dance floor over to where the boys were talking.

"Oh, nothing. I was just telling the boys that I have no say in anything related to wedding planning." Kissing the top of her head as he puts his arm around her shoulder, he looked to the boys to support his story.

"Oh yeah! That's right. We, uh, told him we'll keep him company while you guys get all, um, giggly and girly when it comes to picking out...table linens." Giggly and girly? Table linens? Really, Kevin? He looked for some reassurance from the guys that he was convincing, but all he got was Javi sarcastically shooting him a 'Good job.' stare as Castle pursed his lips shaking his head. Nope. Not convincing.

All four women squint their eyes at the boys knowing that they're up to something. Knowing her husband oh-so-well, Jenny speaks up noticing something is off. "Riiiiight. 'Table linens.' Admit it, guys. You're avoiding us just so you don't have to dance."

"Darn! Caught us. Sorry, ladies." As Kevin shrugs and gives his wife an apologetic look. Yeah, still not convincing.

"We, uh, just needed some quality, uh guy time. Yeah. We promise we'll come find you soon." Castle tries to give Kate a kiss, but she's obviously not believing anything he just said.

"Quality guy time," Kate tilts her head and squints directly at Castle. "Really? You wanna try it again? Make it sound a little more convincing?"

"Yeah, um, no. I'm good." As he looks to the boys for some help.

"Mmmm hmmm. You better not be planning anything crazy, Javier Esposito. I will hurt you." Lanie pauses for a second thinking she can hear a faint 'yes ma'am' from Javier as he looks down at his feet. "Let's go, Ladies. They're obviously up to something."

Although she hasn't said a word, Alexis simply gives the three men an eye roll and a head shake before walking away with the rest of the ladies. All that quality time with Kate seems to have rubbed off on her. 'Well that's not good'. Castle thought to himself. Javi is still looking down waiting for a sign letting him know it was safe to look up, and Kevin continues to stare at the women who have returned to the dance floor. Trying to figure out their random secret language, he looks to the boys, "How do they do that? And all four of them ganging up on us at the same time? I blame you and your woman, Castle. Somehow this is you guys' fault."

"Yeah, bro. We were fine until they all started hanging out together. You're the one that convinced Kate that 'girl time' was good for her. Maybe we really should kick your a..."

"Hey, hey, hey! For right now, let's save the ass kicking for Dr. Motorcycle Boy. Just make sure he understands that he needs to stay away for good this time. You guys have a plan?"

"We got you, man. No worries. Motorcycle Boy won't know what's up until we get him outside."

"Good. I'll stay here. If I disappear again, Kate may come looking for me again and the last thing she needs is to see what we're up to. Plus if we're all gone, it'll look really suspicious. Now go before anyone sees you leave."

The boys nod at each other signaling the beginning of their mission and sneak out of the party room unnoticed. Castle grabs a drink and starts to make his way around the room making small talk and making sure everyone is having a good time. Playing the good host is the only way he can think of to keep people from finding out what he and the boys are up to. Hopefully they make quick work out of Josh so he didn't have to worry about them getting caught or having to deal with the 'Fab Four' by himself. The boys were right. They are a bit frightening when they're all together...

* * *

_Meanwhile at the bar..._

"Wow. So that's the tale of how Richard Castle destroyed your relationship?"

"Yup. Pretty much. I'm still convinced Castle's got something that he's hanging over her head using it to blackmail her somehow. Well that or this is some giant publicity stunt for his stupid books. Kate had always said that he was an egotistical, self-centered, jackass anyway. There's just no way that someone can tolerate that kind of intrusion into someone's life. I don't think he understands boundaries when it comes to someone's private life. He seriously doesn't have the capability to just let her go and move on with his life." Josh rambled a little more not realizing the irony of what he just said.

"Well, Josh. I think I have all I need here. Thanks for those pictures too. They'll definitely go great with the article. If I need anything else, I know how to contact you. Keep your phone handy tonight. If all goes well, you'll be seeing this in print as you sip tomorrow morning's coffee." Dennis starts packing up his stuff eager to get home. He has just gotten an exclusive exposé on the inside life of Richard Castle and his relationship with one of NYPD's finest Detectives. This is the juicy stuff that people want to hear about. Not some fluff piece about proposals and a bunch of engagement party photos.

"Absolutely. It was my pleasure. It's time Rick Castle gets exposed for the jerk he really is once and for all. Hopefully this story convinces Kate of that. I just need to make sure that I'm around when things start to crumble. It's been a blast, Dennis." After a quick handshake, Josh turns to finish his drink so he can start heading home. There was still the matter of dealing with Dr. Rodriguez and the hospital board early tomorrow morning. At least he could look forward to Castle's world crumbling down soon. As he goes to take one last swig of his beer, he feels a hand slam down on his left shoulder as his arm gets bent behind his back. Before he can turn around to see who has grabbed him, he ends up bent over with his head being slammed down to the bar.

"Josh Davison! NYPD! You'll need to come with us and answer a few questions." Javi was going to enjoy every moment of this. The boys made sure their badges were visible to anyone around them just in case Motorcycle Boy decided to make an issue of being taken away. "Sorry folks. Didn't mean to disturb you. Excuse us." He says to the people around them. Just to make sure Josh knew that the boys weren't in the mood for games, Kevin grabbed his right arm yanking him off the barstool. "Let's go buddy. Time for a chat."

* * *

As the boys dragged him out to the alley next to the restaurant, Josh realized exactly who he was dealing with. "Oh you've got to be kidding me! Castle can't handle his own business like a real man, so he decides to send the leaders of the world's shortest detectives club?"

"Oh you think you're funny there, Motorcycle Boy?" Javi said just as he swiped his right foot under Josh's legs making him fall straight on his ass. Once Josh was sitting down on the ground, Kevin joined his partner by 'gently' placing his foot directly over the lower half of Josh's body concentrating on a very specific area. "You better stay down there if you know what's good for you, man. All we really want to do is talk to you for a bit. Whether or not we kick your ass depends on your ability to follow instructions. You think you can do that?"

"I obviously don't have a choice, do I?"

"Good Motorcycle Boy." Kevin had motioned to pat the top Josh's head like a dog, instead it came out more like a good smack to the back of his head. "Oops. sorry. Did that hurt?" When Josh scoffed at the question, Kevin pressed his foot down a little harder making Josh grunt and squirm underneath the weight of Kevin's foot. "Yeah, I bet you feel that now right?"

Laughing at Josh's misery, Javi crouched down in front of him grabbing his face while he turned it towards his own. When they were eye to eye, he forcefully squeezed his cheeks ensuring that Josh was going to pay attention to what he was about to say. "Our message is simple and we're only going tell you this once. If we find that we have to tell you again, the next time won't be so easy for you. Us having to have to come back to you won't be a good look for you, bro. Got it?" Not waiting for any acknowledgment from Josh, Javi continued with his message. "Now, you're going to back the hell off of Kate. That means you don't contact her in any way, you don't send her anything, you don't go near anyone she knows to try and get to her and you most certainly do not go anywhere near her. If you see her standing somewhere, you turn around and walk in the other direction. She is completely off limits to you. And don't even think of going back inside or even near the restaurant to wait around. Have we made ourselves clear?" Letting Josh's face go and rising to stand over him, Javi moved next to Kevin waiting for a response.

Not liking how much time Josh was taking to respond, Kevin screamed down at him as he pressed his foot down even harder. "Have some damn respect and answer the man's question!"

"Alright! Alright! Just get the hell off me man!" After Kevin removed his foot, Josh stayed down on the ground for a bit gathering his thoughts. After a few seconds, he stood up and dusted himself off. "You tell Castle that this isn't over. Not by a long shot. He'll get what's coming to him and I will get to Kate one way or another. Just you wait."

Before Josh storms off down the alleyway, Javi waves as Kevin yells out "Yeah. Sure. We'll get right on that, Motorcycle Boy! Have a nice night."

* * *

Feeling accomplished, the boys give each other a fist bump as they make their way back into the restaurant making a quick stop in the men's restroom to make sure they didn't look like they had just held someone down in an alley. Taking a look around the party room they spot Castle talking to the Mayor and make their way over to him. Not wanting to interrupt, they simply nodded as they walked by him before heading to the bar where they ordered two beers and checked the time to see how long they were gone. 15 minutes wasn't terrible, but they needed to come up with a story just in case anyone asked where they were.

"Yo man. You almost blew it before. Table linens? Really? That's almost as bad as honeymilk. Let me do the talking this time so you don't make them even more suspicious."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. But I will have you know that choosing table linens isn't an easy job."

"I'm embarrassed for you, bro. I can't even look at you right now."

Kevin goes to plead his case, but Castle came running over after finishing his conversation with the mayor. "Hey guys. Everything taken care of?"

"Yeah, man. We think he got the point. He shouldn't be bothering you guys any time soon or ever for that matter. We let it be known that if he tries anything again we'll be right there waiting for him. Now, if you will excuse me, I'd like to find my woman, grab her for a dance, and enjoy the rest of the night." Javi mouthed the words 'table linens' one more time as he shook his head at Kevin before walking away to find Lanie.

"You'll understand one day when you get married..." as Kevin headed off to find Jenny.

"Thanks guys!" Castle chuckled at his two friends as they walked away. There was no one else he'd rather have at his side other than these guys. He knew that they would always have his back. Especially when it came to Kate and keeping her happy. Looking around the room he spotted Kate standing at the bar talking with Paula. Now that this was finally behind them, he had no intention on leaving her side for the rest of the night. Walking up behind her, he placed his hands at the side of her waist, leaning over her right shoulder inhaling that cherry scent that drives him up the wall. "May I have this dance for the rest of my life?"

Kate closed her eyes as she grabbed his hands and brought his arms around her entire body. Turning her head so that they were almost face to face, she leans in for a kiss. "Wow, Castle. You should write books with lines like that."

"Oh geez. You really are _that_ couple. I'm going to walk away before I lose my mind. Have fun!" Paula winked and laughed at them as she walked away.

"As I was saying, Ms. Beckett. May I have this dance?"

"Why Mr. Castle, I thought you'd never ask."

Hand in hand, Rick and Kate make their way over to the dance floor not realizing that all eyes had fallen on them as they reached the center. Holding on to each other they swayed back and forth in perfect rhythm to Adele's _I Found A Boy_, never once unlocking their eyes from each other. Everyone had stopped to take out their phones and cameras and began taking pictures. Paula asked the private photographer that Kate and Rick hired for themselves to find a way to send her a specific shot when they were done. She was going to make sure that this photo was the one used when the announcement came out in the morning paper. If anyone had a doubt that these two were meant to be together, all they had to do was look at them at this exact moment and those doubts would be gone. Not realizing they were the only people on the actual dance floor, Kate jumped when everyone began to clap when the song was over. Feeling a little shy, she went to put her head into Rick's chest, but he immediately caught her chin between his index finger and thumb not allowing her to drop her head. "I've got you," he said as he leaned in for a kiss. "Always."

The rest of the night was absolutely perfect and the incident that had taken place earlier was long forgotten. They were looking forward to seeing the pictures and articles that would be coming out in the morning papers. Well, all but one...

* * *

**_So, yeah. This is it. Im not 100% sold on it since it is so long, but I'm a sucker for details when it comes to describing things. Plus I needed get everything into this one chapter since there was stuff taking place at the same time. The next chapter is going to be...well you'll just have to stick around and read it ;-)_**

_**Oh oh oh and if you've never heard **_I Found a Boy _**by Adele, goooooo find it and give it a listen! It popped up on my playlist as I was writing so I really wanted to find a way to throw it in here. It is so perfect for this story! **_

_**Reviews please? Especially since I'm so blah about this chapter. I'm a big girl, I'll be glad to take some helpful criticism! **_


	6. Chapter 6 - Article

_Writer to marry muse, but is relationship built on lies, infidelity and publicity? Insider exclusive. _

_ By Dennis McFadden_

_NEW YORK — The guests filed in and found their seats, photographers were ready, and reporters pointed their digital recorders at publicist, Paula Haas, awaiting the highly anticipated engagement announcement of mystery writer, Rick Castle, to his long time muse, NYPD Detective Kate Beckett. Having been one of only a handful of reporters invited to cover this little shin dig, I should've been a little more excited, but I was itching for something else. Something with with a little more dirt and a little less fluff behind it. _

_After being tossed out of the pre-party press event for asking the wrong question, I found myself in the company of a man by the name of Dr. Josh Davidson. Now, running into Dr. Davidson was pure accident. One I am currently grateful for. Prior to the evening's festivities, our trio had a bit of a confrontation when the good doctor simply went up to the couple to extend his warm wishes. What's so special about him, you ask? Well, Josh just happens to be the ex fiancé of our fearless Detective Beckett and he had no problems sharing some intimate details of the real relationship of the Master of Macabre and his muse. _

_ "What I'm saying to you, Dennis, is that this is probably all one giant publicity stunt. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Kate has any true feelings for Castle. She never did, and she never will. Especially after he almost got her killed."_

_"So, what you're telling me, is that there is no fairytale/writer muse love story here. This is all fake?" I asked of the good doctor._

_"That is correct." Davidson said with a smirk._

_What I really wanted to know was how Rick Castle came about ruining, what was described to me as a perfect relationship, and how he single handedly put the detective's life at risk. Could it be that our best-seller is indeed a self serving home wrecker? _

_According to Dr. Davidson, he found himself having to deal with Castle intruding on their personal lives on a constant basis. Phone calls and texts at all hours of the night, randomly showing up at places where they were out on dates, constantly being a nuisance at the precinct to the detective and her partners and he had even gone so far as to let himself in to the detective's home while she and the good doctor were getting intimate. _

_Things began to heat up when the announcement for the first installment of the '_Nikki Heat_' series movie deal came out. _

_"He lured her out to L.A. with a promise of having some input on the appearance of Nikki's character and to verify the authenticity of the NYPD's portrayal in the movie, but all Kate got were sexual advances, and invasions of privacy their entire trip. He had even fixed it so that they had to share one hotel suite. He made sure that Kate never had a moment alone. Especially when it came to wanting to contact me. She came home saying that every moment with him was pure torture."_

_The final straw was when Detective Beckett was shot while giving the eulogy for her former Captain, Roy Montgomery. _

_Years before Rick Castle even met Kate Beckett, her mother was brutally murdered. With no evidence, the case remained unsolved and buried until Castle decided to finagle his way into the detective's private life. Using his connections, he was able to look into privately sealed NYPD files and re-open the case. No matter how much Detective Beckett begged him to let it go, he continued on poking his nose into places where it didn't belong. To this day, Dr. Davidson still believes that this poking around is the reason why she was shot. Refusing to elaborate on any further details of the case itself, he did offer some other information._

_"I remember her coming home and crying to me day after day just wanting him gone from the precinct and for him to just leave her alone. But his connections in the city, as well as the promises he made to her to solve and close her mother's case kept drawing her back to him. It was almost as if she had a case of Stockholm Syndrome. No matter how much he used and abused her, she could never cut him loose."_

_On the day she was shot, Dr. Davidson just happened to be working the ER and he said it was the most frightening and challenging point of his career. _

_"You don't know fear and loss until you are literally standing there with your fiancé's heart in your hands. All I could think about was saving her life. When I went outside to the waiting area to inform her father of her condition, I was attacked by Castle. Her father was in the middle of thanking me for saving her life, when all of I sudden I get pushed back into a wall. I don't remember what was said, but I know I didn't back down. I wasn't going to let some writer get in between us. I was able to put my foot down and insist that he not be allowed in to see her during her recovery. That was something that Kate was eternally grateful for. His not being a constant presence in her life was exactly what we needed as a couple to move on with our lives. Especially since we were engaged."_

_But the good doctor and hero detective never got their happily ever after. The detective's personality had drastically changed as a result of her shooting and she revealed a side of herself that no one, especially her fiancé had ever seen. This information raises the question - Is there more _Nikki Heat_ to our detective than she's letting on? These photos seem to prove it!_

_**Photo 1: Kate laying down, eyes closed, wearing nothing but a bra, panties, and her dress hat mimicking the cover of Heat Wave.**_

_**Photo 2: Kate laying down, eyes closed, wearing nothing but a bra, panties, and her dress hat mimicking the cover of Naked Heat.**_

_**Photo 3: Kate laying down, eyes closed, wearing nothing but a bra and panties with badge clipped to elastic band of panties.**_

_**Photo 4: Kate laying down, eyes closed, with a sheet draped over her, badge being displayed.**_

_**Photo 5: Kate laying down, eyes closed, with a sheet draped over her, gun being displayed.**_

_The detective's erratic behavior was a definite cause for concern for the doctor who insisted that she seek out professional help. His wishes were met with nothing but hatred and contempt for him in her eyes. _

_"She told me that Castle would never make her seek out counseling. Castle would love to see her actually act as Nikki. Castle this, Castle that. She became absolutely obsessed with him and I just couldn't take it. I told her to choose between me and our future or Castle. She chose to give into her obsession with him and his books and went crawling back to him. She was ready to give up her life as a detective, give up finding her mother's killer and cut all ties to Castle and Nikki Heat to come with me to Africa as I went on my Doctors Without Borders mission. It was when the 3rd Nikki Heat novel came out...that's when everything changed. For her and for us. That's when she became obsessed with him all over again. That's when it all ended for us."_

_Seeing how reliving all of this, and seeing his ex fiancé had taken a toll on the young doctor, I decided to conclude my interview. I knew I had enough information for a great story and the truth behind the relationship between the writer and his muse._

_So, my dear readers. Is what we've seen of the couple over the last year the truth of their relationship or can this all be some giant publicity stunt to sell more books and movie tickets? I'll leave it to you to decide. I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of this story..._

(Calls to Richard Castle, Kate Beckett and Paula Haas looking for comments went unanswered before we went to print.)


	7. Chapter 7

It was 6:31am. It's was 6:31am, on their day off. It was 6:31am, on their day off, after a most amazing and magical night of dancing, drinking and laughing with their family and friends celebrating their engagement. It was 6:31am, so of course they were still asleep after such a long night. The party ended at midnight, but no one was ready to go home. The 6 friends had gone down to the Old Haunt to celebrate just a little more. So here they are, at 6:31am, still lost in their dreams not knowing that at 6:30am, a dark cloud had formed above them that was about to turn their dreams into one giant nightmare.

First it was Castle's cell phone. He didn't hear it, but since Kate was used to random phone calls at random hours, she heard it. "Castle, your phone." she mumbled as she gave him a gentle kick with her foot and push with her arm to stir him awake.

"Imstillsleepingbeckett." Was all she got out of him. He didn't even move an inch.

Next was the house phone. "Rick...the house phone," pushing him with a little more force getting him to wake up.

"The house phone?" he questioned as he rolled over to check the time. No one ever really calls the house phone. Especially that early. Castle's cell went off again just as the phone line he had in his office started ringing. Ignoring the office phone for now, Rick immediately sat up and grabbed his cell to check the caller ID showing Kate that it was Paula. "You do realize what time we left yesterday and what time it is right now?"

Judging by the look on his face and the way his head quickly turned towards her, Kate knew something wasn't right. Especially with the other two phones still going off. She was now sitting cross-legged on the bed staring at him as he paced back and forth around the bedroom listening to what Paula was saying. He didn't have the speakerphone on, but from what she was hearing from his end, it clearly wasn't good. A wave of panic started to rush over her as a few tears began to form in her eyes. Nope. Not good at all.

"What do you mean by everything? ... What does it say exactly and how the hell does something like this even happen?! ... Handle this and handle it now ... Yeah, we'll be ready. See you in a few." Castle ran his hand through his hair letting out a huge sigh as he hung up his phone. All of a sudden, he raises his hand hurling his phone towards the closet door letting out the loudest yell he could. "GOD DAMNIT!" The sound of him yelling and the shattering of the phone against the door had frightened Kate so much that she had buried her head into her lap all while she covered her ears. Realizing what he had just done, he immediately rushed over to her wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Kate. I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Please, Kate. Look at me."

She looked up searching his eyes for the shade blue that always seemed to calm her down, but she couldn't find it. Instead she had found a shade of black that absolutely terrified her. With a few tears escaping from her eyes, her voice shook as she asked, "What the hell is going on, Rick?"

Just as he was about to explain, Martha and Alexis came running into the bedroom. They were already up due to the nonstop ringing of the phones, but the loud yell and the shattering of the phone had them worried. Not wanting to be embarrassed by her tears, Kate quickly wiped her cheeks as the two women stood in the doorway.

"Richard? What the hell is going on in here?" Martha looked at her son, down to the shattered pieces of the phone, then over to Kate who she could tell had obviously been crying.

"Dad, seriously? Is everything Ok? Kate, what's wrong?"

"I need you all to sit down." The three women look at Rick, then at each other having no idea what is about to come down on them. Kate sinks back down to the bed with Martha and Alexis following as they end up on either side of her. Martha instantly put an arm around Kate to comfort her and Alexis grabbed Kate's free hand as they all stared at Rick waiting for him to begin. He paced back and forth in front of them inhaling to gather his thoughts.

"Along with the engagement announcement from last night, there's another article being circled around. Apparently a reporter received some inside information detailing certain things that had happened prior to us officially getting together." Martha and Alexis both gasped as Kate continued to stare at Rick. Before he spoke again, he knelt down in front of Kate placing his hands on her knees to brace her for what came next. "There are also a few pictures that go along with it. Kate. The information was given to him...by Josh."

The tears began to fall down her cheeks before he was able to finish his sentence. She immediately knew exactly who was behind this. That rat bastard. "I'm sorry," was all she could say before collapsing in to Martha and began sobbing uncontrollably. "This is all my fault. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Josh? Your ex boyfriend?" Now looking at her father, Alexis realized who he was talking about. "Dad, isn't he the one that pushed you in the hospital when..."

"Alexis, shhh. Not now." He didn't mean to snap at his daughter, but Castle never told Kate about the incident in the hospital after she was shot and this was most certainly not the time to bring it up. After giving her an apologetic look, Alexis understood and smiled and nodded at her father. Still kneeling in front of Kate, he brought his hands up to her face using his thumbs to wipe away the tears that were still spilling from her eyes. "Kate, look at me. There is nothing about this that is your fault. Do you understand me? Absolutely nothing."

Going straight into 'mother mode', Martha gave her a tight squeeze to reassure her that she was loved and supported at that moment. "Katherine Beckett you listen to me. Whatever he has said, we all know that it can't be anything but lies. That man has had it out for Richard from day one and everyone here knows it. I just can't understand what prompted him to do this!"

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Kate was finally able to speak. "We ran into him...last night. At the restaurant before the party...before we made the official announcement," Putting her head down, she took a few more deep breaths as she continued, "He wasn't too happy when he realized that we were engaged and got a bit aggressive when I said no after he asked to go somewhere and talk. We had walked away, but I guess he stayed around to try and see me again." She felt herself beginning to panic again and looked to Rick to have him continue the story.

After he finished explaining about the rest of the argument, the reporters seeing things unfold as they made their way into the party and the one reporter that pressed the issue even though they were instructed not to, he was able to put everything together. He didn't tell anyone about what he asked of Esposito and Ryan. He needed to figure out if that fight had provoked him. He would never be able to forgive himself if he was the reason behind this. "I guess they ran into each other at some point and that's where this came from." Sighing as he finished, he heard a knock at the door. "That's going to be Paula to start on damage control. The sooner we jump on this, the faster it will go away. Mother, can you please let her in? I need a moment alone with Kate."

"Of course, Darling. Whatever you need." Martha gave Kate a kiss on the top of her head before leaving the room.

"What can I do? I'll do anything to help."

"Alexis, would you mind making some coffee and unhook the house and office phones? We need to focus on fixing this and having the phones constantly go off won't help."

"No problem, Dad," she said as she hugged him. "Kate, do you need anything from your apartment that you may not have here? I'm also not sure what we have food wise since I've been at the dorms."

"Not right now, Alexis. Thank you. I actually don't want you leaving the loft for any reason. Do you understand? We have no idea what kind of circus is out there and I can't have you and WILL NOT have you getting caught in the middle of this mess." Kate got up to give Alexis a long hug making sure to smooth down some of her hair when she pulled back. Kate was not going to allow anything to hurt her in any of this. Alexis smiled and nodded as she left the room. They had become incredibly close after her kidnapping and Kate was extremely protective of her. Here she was about to deal with this mess and all she could think about was protecting her fiancé's daughter.

Taking one more breath, she dashes over to Rick wrapping her arms around his torso needing to get lost in his arms for a moment. That hug. That hug that made her feel so small in his arms, yet made her feel safe, was the only thing she needed and wanted at the moment. She didn't mean to say the words out loud, but they escaped in a small whisper anyway. "Please don't ever let me go. Please don't leave me."

Squeezing her as hard as he could without breaking her, he whispered the exact words that he had said once before, "No, no! Never, never! Kate, I have loved you for so long and there's nothing that will change that. We've come too far and fought too hard for this...for us. If he wants a war, he'll get a war." Really not wanting to let her go, he knew that they would need to leave the comforts of their room very soon. No sooner did he finish his thought, came a knock on the door. It was Paula.

"I hate to interrupt guys, but we've got to start dealing with this ASAP. There are cameras and reporters staked outside of here, outside of Kate's apartment and the precinct. I've already gotten 6 phone calls from Gina. She says it's on behalf of Black Pawn, but I know that not entirely true. Have you guys read it yet?"

"No. Haven't had the chance yet. How, uh...how bad is it?"

Paula tossed one of the newspapers that had the article printed in it on the bed. Neither Rick nor Kate made a move to grab it. They clearly weren't ready. "Bad. Really bad. The way it's written makes it seem almost believable. What doesn't help anything are...the pictures. Kate...the pictures are extremely...intimate. I'm sorry for even having to ask this, but did you ever let him take photos of you or did you send him anything?"

"No! God, no! If I did and they ever got out, I'd potentially lose my badge. I would never risk my career for something like that!" Realizing what she just said and starting to feel that panic set in again, "The precinct...Captain Gates...Castle I can lose my job..."

"I know and I'm sorry, but I had to ask. And don't worry about the Captain. She's on your side and is willing to let us handle everything for now. She's more worried about how you guys are than issues with One PP. Why don't you guys get dressed and we'll get set up in the dining room. I can't tell you how long it's gonna take, but I promise you that we'll resolve this. We'll make that jerk pay. You guys just hang in there and be strong. I've got your back." With that, Paula left and the couple was alone in their room once again.

"I guess before we do anything we should read this piece of garbage, huh?" Castle had walked over to pick up the paper, but hesitated when he got to it.

"We have no choice, Castle. We can't let him get away with this. He's not going to win. We can't let him win." They sank down to the bed together flipping the pages until they reached the article.

'Writer to marry muse, but is relationship built on lies, infidelity and publicity? Insider exclusive...'


	8. Chapter 8

_**3 chapters in 2 days! YAY ME! Well, more you guys for the reviews, follows and for favoriting the story. I'm happy with this chapter. It's a bit of a filler, but it's pointing things in the right direction. **_

_**Sorry for not repliying to reviews individually. I promised myself I'd make it a point to do that and I've slacked. Blah. Just know I appreciate all the reviews! **_

_**Forward we march, folks...**_

* * *

_So, my dear readers. Is what we've seen of the couple over the last year the truth of their relationship or can this all be some giant publicity stunt to sell more books and movie tickets? I'll leave it to you to decide. I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of this story..._

_(Calls to Richard Castle, Kate Beckett and Paula Haas looking for comments went unanswered before we went to print.)_

* * *

"Is he kidding with this?! Does he seriously believe that he's going to be able to get away with any of this?! I'll kill him! I swear to God, Kate, I'm going to kill him! When I get my hands on him, he's going to wish he never came back from Africa."

"Castle, please..."

"What?" He said staring at her - eyes darker than ever as he began pacing the dining area back and forth. "Calm down? Kate do you really expect me to be able to be the least bit calm after what we've just read? Remaining calm is the last thing on my mind at the moment. Not all of us are as passive like the great Kate Beckett."

"What did you just say to me?" With the timbre in her voice dropping, fists clenched, and whatever light she had left in her eyes from the night before now gone, Kate stood up from the dining room table to confront Castle at the hurtful words he had just spoken to her. "Do you think this is easy for me?"

"Kate, no. I'm sorry...I didn't mean..."

"No. You don't get to apologize for that. How can you even think for a second that I'm not just as angry as you are? How can you even begin to understand how I'm feeling when you haven't even asked me?" Kate's voice getting louder and louder with each sentence. "How dare you assume that I'm not affected by any of this! Last time I checked, those photos were taken of **me! My** mother's case and **my** shooting are being brought back up all at the hands of **my** ex, so excuse me if I don't seem to be coddling poor Richard Castle at his time of need. Save your God damn 'I'm sorry' for someone else, Rick." Kate stormed off into the bedroom, slamming the door making sure that it was locked behind her.

Castle tried to go after her, but he was soon stopped by Martha. "Let her go for a moment, kiddo. You know as well as I do that she didn't mean that just as much as you didn't mean what you said. Why don't you sit with Paula and try to figure out how to deal with this? I'll go in and talk to her." Martha grabbed two cups of coffee and headed towards the bedroom._ "Katherine? Katherine, darling. It's Martha. May I come in? I have coffee..."_

"Thank you, mother."

Paula, who has been leaning on the kitchen counter watching things play out and trying to figure out what to do, walks over and sits at the table. "Rick, fighting with Kate isn't going to get this resolved. It's also playing into his hands. You do realize that?"

"Look, Paula," Castle turns in her direction then finds himself sinking down on the floor leaning against the island in the kitchen. "You're right. Ugh, what the hell was I thinking? How could I say something like that to her? I can't lose her, Paula. Not to something like this." Stopping to gather his thoughts again, Castle lets out a deep sigh. "What do you think is the best way to handle this? I don't think that Kate or I can handle doing this on our own."

"Right now, the best way to handle this is to issue a statement. I'm not talking about a big press conference or anything. That will make it seem like he's telling the truth and you're making a big show to purposely prove him wrong will confirm that. Getting a simple statement out from you and Kate is the best course of action to take at the moment. You think you can go in there and get her out? This needs to come from the both of you. The sooner the better, Rick."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the last person she wants to see right now..." Castle stares at his bedroom doors wondering how he was going to fix the mess with Kate.

* * *

"Katherine? Katherine, darling. It's Martha. May I come in? I have coffee." Martha hears the lock and sees the door open just enough to make her way through. Handing Kate a cup of coffee before making sure the door was closed behind her, she watches as the younger woman makes her way over to the bed. Martha makes her way over to the armchair in the corner to sit and wait until Kate was ready to talk.

Kate, now sitting on the bed, places the cup on a nightstand. She stares at Martha for a bit trying to come up with anything to say, but all she has is this overwhelming urge to let out one giant scream. So, that's exactly what she does. Grabbing a pillow to muffle the sound, she falls back on the bed, still half sitting, placing the pillow over her face and lets out one big, "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"Impressive, dear. You are more than welcome to come into my studio and show that to my students anytime. Now that you've let that out of your system, care to talk about it?"

With her face still covered by the pillow and no sign of wanting to come out of hiding anytime soon, Kate speaks. "Do I have to?"

"We'll, no, but I'm pretty sure you'll get bored in here without having any cases to solve. You know that you'd never be able to stay away from the precinct forever."

"Good point, Martha. You are a very wise woman." Sitting up and tossing the pillow to the side, Kate grabs her cup of coffee and makes her way over to sit on the floor beside Martha laying her head in her lap. It was something she used to do with her mother when she had had a bad day. She missed her own mother terribly, but it was moments like these, the little conversations between them, that made missing her mother hurt a little less. Hating to get the answer, Kate needed to ask the question, "How bad did I just mess that up?"

"Oh, dear, please! The both of you screwed that up royally!" Martha said chuckling to herself looking down at the detective who was now grinning just a bit. "It's what the two of you do...what you've been doing for years! Things happen, they go wrong, you both get mad, refuse to actually talk to each other, then end up lashing out and saying things you don't mean. Honestly, Katherine, I don't know how you don't find that completely exhausting. I'm exhausted just by watching."

"Are we really that bad?"

"Oh good Lord, yes. But I highly doubt you'd be who you are as a couple without it."

"So, now what do we do? Not only are we fighting with Josh and the mess he's put us in, we're now fighting with each other. I can't lose him over this, Martha. I don't know if I can handle any of this without him." Kate had been calm for the most part, but the thought of losing Castle sent her into a bit of a panic.

Immediately putting her hand on Kate's head to calm her down, Martha spoke reassuring Kate of her biggest fear for the moment. "Hey, kiddo! Where is that even coming from? Do you really think that Richard will leave you over something so ridiculous? Especially after all you both have gone through to get to this point? Please, if anything he's going to use this to further 'stake his claim' on you." Giving Kate a wink as she finished her sentence.

"Stake his claim, huh?" Raising her head at Martha's words, Kate couldn't help but laugh when she pictured an image of Castle standing next to her, wearing a black t-shirt with a logo of her face in a heart on his chest, grey cargo pants, hands clenched in fists while placed on his hips giving the cheesiest grin to anyone that was looking at him. She couldn't really think how she got that image in her head, but it definitely took her out of her little pity party. "Only you, Martha. Only you would be able to take a major issue and make us see the humor in it. Thank you for helping me put thing into perspective."

"Anytime, dear. Anytime. Besides, with you two, one has to find the humor in things. You guys use up all the serious times for all of us." Giving Kate a pat on the hand and a wink, Martha makes the motion to stand and make their way back out to Rick and Paula. "As much fun as I'm having in here, we still have this article issue to deal with. It's time to get serious and go after that rat bastard with all you've got! I believe I've heard Richard refer to you as 'Badass Beckett' once or twice. You ready to have her make an appearance?"

Smirking at the thought of being labeled 'Badass Beckett', Kate stood up looking Martha in eye. "Oh, Martha. You have no idea just how badass this Beckett can be."

Walking out of the bedroom arm in arm, Kate winked at Paula and gave Castle the biggest grin she could muster up. Letting go of Martha's arm, she walked straight over to Castle, wrapping her arms around him. "Someone told me that you mentioned 'Badass Beckett' once or twice. I know for a fact she wouldn't be that big of a badass if it wasn't for her partner. What do you say we show everyone just how badass we can be...together?"

Wrapping his arms around her a little tighter to pick her up off of the floor and spin her around, he laughs at what she's just said. "Well, badass, I'd say let's get this show on the road."

Martha and Paula are now standing in the kitchen next to each other grinning at the couple and giving each other a high-five. "Alright, guys. Let's sit down and get this statement out ASAP. Once that's done, you guys can go out and do that...thing... that you guys do. Just make sure to keep me out of anything illegal, will ya?"

Nodding at Paula! Castle and Beckett at the same time said, "Yeah...sure..."

"Mmmm hmmmm. I'm serious here guys. I don't want to have to issue another statement about your arrest. Anyway, here's what I'm thinking as far as this press release should go...

* * *

**_Thanks for sticking around. As always, reviews and suggestions are welcome!_**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Oh, hi! Me again! This is a fluffy, filler chapter to move things along. I'm a sucker for details, so I can't just jump to the juicy stuff. Plus my brain is super cluttered at the moment, so I need to just write and write and write to un-clutter it - if that makes any sense.**_

_**Thanks for sticking around!**_

* * *

After a long discussion on the best way to handle things, Rick and Kate felt that releasing one giant statement would look too forced, so they decided on each giving a brief statement for the press release. The fact that Kate wanted her own voice heard had Castle a little excited. She was never one to get involved with the media, but this was a good step for her. He was proud of how she was handling all of this. After going over their paragraphs one more time, Rick hands the paper over to Paula who was talking with Martha and Alexis about how they should handle things if they were approached by paparazzi. "Ok, Paula. This is what we've come up with. It's straight and to the point."

_FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:_

_Writer and Fiancé Respond to Allegations_

_New York - Writer, Richard Castle and Fiancé, Detective Katherine Beckett have issued a joint statement in regards to the heinous allegations and fabricated story issued by Mr. Josh Davidson._

_"Kate and I are very much in love and our relationship is not based on publicity for a book. While our relationship did start out with me shadowing her for inspiration, things blossomed into a true romance and we are thankful for each and every road that has lead us here. The Nikki Heat series is a huge part of our lives, but not the only part. The fact that we are being forced to address these allegations is ridiculous. Mr. Davidson is nothing but a jealous ex-boyfriend looking for revenge to mend a broken heart. Right now, we are looking forward to planning our wedding and our future together. We ask that you please respect us, our families, friends, and colleagues and let this go."_

_"Mr. Davidson and I dated briefly and were never engaged. His over exaggerating and using tragic events in my life to get my attention is disgusting and it makes me ashamed to have ever been associated with him. The pictures were taken without my knowledge and I feel completely violated. I have never disrespected my badge and the entire NYPD in such a terrible way. Due to the horrific nature in which the pictures were obtained, the NYPD will be pursuing criminal charges against Mr. Davidson. Rick and I ask that you allow us to live our lives in private and not pursue anything related to this story."_

_On behalf of Richard Castle and Katherine Beckett, we ask that any further questions be directed to the office of Paula Haas. _

_Thank you._

"This looks good, guys. It's short and gets right to the point. I wish I could say that this would make it all go away, but we probably have a few more days of dealing with this."

"Thank you, Paula. You know we'd be lost without you."

"Don't thank me yet, Rick. I still have to get this out to everyone. In the meantime, don't answer your phones unless you know exactly who's calling. Everyone at the precinct, Black Pawn, my office, and even your dad, Kate, have all been instructed to say 'no comment' and hang up. I promise I will do my best to keep them all out of this."

"Oh, God. My dad...those pictures," Kate had totally forgotten about her dad and him seeing the pictures. "I know he won't think I had anything to do with them, it's just the fact that he even saw me like...that. So embarrassing."

"Don't worry. He trusts that you knew nothing about them and is preparing a statement addressing any civil legal action on your behalf apart from whatever One PP decides. Having met the man, I really didn't think that he even knew some of the words that were coming out of his mouth this morning!"

"Oh, he knows them alright. I believe he learned them the day I turned fourteen!" Kate laughed remembering the first time she'd ever heard her dad curse. "If you will excuse me, I'll go call him now. Thank you again, Paula." Kate grabs her phone and heads off into the study to give her dad a call. _"Hey, dad...I know, I know..."_

* * *

Paula has gathered her things and makes her way to the door. "I'm off to war, Rick. Security has eyes on all doors getting into the building, so no one should be able to get up to this floor. I suggest you stay in today. If you need anything, I'll send one of my interns over to help you out. I'll call you later with any news."

"Thank you, Paula," Rick said as he walked her to the door. "I know you said stay in, but what about having people here? 'Bored/irritated Beckett' isn't as fun as 'Badass Beckett.' I gotta distract her somehow."

"Rick, I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Who are you planning on calling?"

"Who else would we have over? Half of the people we trust are already here and the others are left out there...all alone...to fend off the paparazzi on their own...not knowing..." Castle bats his eye lashes and flashes his baby blues at her knowing exactly how to get his way.

"Ok, ok! I get it! They're more than welcome, just warn them about the circus outside and ask them to be discreet." After giving him a little pat on the cheek, Paula makes her way down to the elevator. Just before she steps in, she yells, "Oh, and make sure you eat all of your vegetables and brush your teeth before you go to bed!"

"Thanks, mom!" He yells back as he shuts the door. He looks over towards the study and sees Kate still on the phone with her dad. Martha and Alexis have gone back up to their rooms to sleep a little more, so he pulls out his phone to send a quick text to the boys.

'Need backup for today. Bored/irritated Beckett may come out and I will not make it out alive. Bring your women! Tell them to bring ice cream!'

A few seconds later he gets a call from Ryan. The boys had asked for the day off because of the party, but he and Javi went in to finish some paperwork anyway. Kevin puts the call on speaker phone. "There better be some Madden involved in this. Javi is still making fun of me because of the table linens."

"As long as we're separate from them. Kevin needs to earn his man card back. I can't even bring myself to look him in the eye, Castle."

Castle laughs just picturing them on the other end of the line. "No table linens, plenty of XBox, food, drinks and fun to be had. Bring overnight bags. We'll make the most of it. I can send a car to get you guys. Wanna say, Kevin's around 10?"

'Sounds good. I'll have Jenny start getting ready."

"I've already got a bag at Lanie's, so I'm good to go too."

"Sweet! I'll call the car service now. See you soon. And, uh, thanks, fellas."

"Hey, bro. What are best men for? See you in a bit."

Hanging up the phone with the boys, Castle starts moving around the loft getting things ready. It's quiet, but that's just because the phones have been unplugged. He notices that he's had a few missed calls and texts from Gina, but he ignores them. He laughs at the one text that says, 'See, Richard. I told you she was trouble.' Ah, Gina. If you only understood just how much she was worth it...

* * *

"Hey, dad."

"Katie. That article! Those pictures..."

"I know, I know. Paula just left with our statements that we're sending out. Hopefully they're on some websites soon. Now we're just sitting and waiting."

"Look, honey. I know you would never do such a thing, but how on earth did he even manage to do that without you knowing and ever finding out? I mean, he's a doctor with access to all kinds of drugs. Do you think he could've drugged you on purpose?"

"Honestly? The thought had crossed my mind, but now I remember. It wasn't too long after my..."

"Don't say it. You know I don't even like to think of the word."

"Ok. It was after my...incident. I was still on some pain meds when I got back from the cabin. I text him that I was back and that he had some stuff left over at my place. I invited him to get his stuff and go. The thought of seeing him made me nervous, so I had a glass or 2 of wine before he came."

"Katie, seriously?"

"Dad, please. I'm embarrassed enough."

"I'm sorry. This is just so frustrating. Things have happened...are happening and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it. A father just wants to protect his little girl...no matter how old she is. Especially when there were times he didn't do a very good job..."

"Dad, no! We're fine now and that's all that matters to me. I promise. I'm ok."

"You're right. Want to finish explaining?"

"Yeah...Anyway, so I guess the wine and meds didn't mix right. I remember feeling a little dizzy, so Josh had offered to walk me over to the bedroom and leave as soon as I was settled. I'm guessing that's when he found the opportunity to take them."

"Katie, honey. I have to ask. Do you think he...tried anyth..."

"Oh, no! No way! The pictures were bad enough. I don't think he would've gone that far. Sadly him being a doctor is probably what prevented it. Pain meds, wine and a weak heart would've been to risky for him. It's so sad that this is even a part of this conversation."

"The entire conversation is sad. How's Rick with all of this?"

"Amazing," Kate had said the word without even skipping a beat. No need to tell her dad about the fight they had before. It was nothing to her at this point. "No, really. He was really upset as things were unfolding, but he's calm now. He's more concerned with how I'm handling it all. I think he's afraid I'll go running out the door."

"Could you blame him? Nothing's ever been easy between you two."

"Ha! You can say that again. But no running for me. This...this is it, dad. He's it for me. No more running away. You may need to hold me pretty tight when walking down the aisle though. You know. Just in case." Kate chuckled at the last part knowing that her dad was probably already planning on it.

"Oh, believe me. The thought's crossed my mind a few times. Maybe we'll keep the wine and meds handy just in case."

"DAD!"

"Sorry, Katie. I couldn't resist. Do you need me to handle anything on the legal end for you guys? I feel like I should do something other than say 'no comment' every minute."

"Not right now, but thanks. I'll probably need to deal with an NYPD lawyer and Rick has his on standby. Right now, I just need you to be my dad if that's ok."

"Then that's exactly what I'll be. I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too, dad. I'll call you if we hear any news, ok?"

"Thank you. You guys hang in there and do not hesitate for a second to call me for any reason. Give my best to Rick. Goodbye, Katie."

"Talk to you later, daddy." It was the first time she had called him daddy in years. She didn't quite understand why it came out just then, but it did. She figured that a little girl would always need her father...no matter how old she was. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before heading back out to Castle. She found him whistling and moving around the kitchen looking like he was preparing a meal for an army.

* * *

"Castle, what are you doing? It's just the four of us today. Unless you plan on feeding the paparazzi downstairs."

"Ha! Funny, but its not going to be just the four of us today. I know you, Beckett. You're already bored with the thought of being stuck in here all day," He watched her face as she scrunched up her nose as she tried to pretend he was wrong. "And don't even try to deny it!"

"Eh. You may be kinda, sort of right. But if you repeat that to anyone, I'll deny it! And what do you mean it's not just the four of us today?"

"Well, since we can't be at the precinct, I thought I'd bring the precinct to us." Seeing her smile at that moment made him forget why they were stuck in the first place. "I invited the boys, Lanie and Jenny over for the day and said they could hang out all night if they wanted. They've all got the day off, so why not enjoy it together? They should be here between 10:30-11 this morning."

Walking over towards where he was standing, Kate wrapped her arms around him giving him a huge hug. She couldn't help but wonder how she got so lucky. "Thank you. You're pretty fantastic, you know that? Here we are in the middle of this mess and you've managed to find a way to make me forget about it for a while."

"Well if it's only for a little while, then I'm not doing a very good job. I promise you, Kate, I'll make this go away and he will pay for this." He was trying to reassure her by hugging her a little tighter, but part of him wondered if he was going to be able to keep his promise. He also wondered if what he had asked the boys to do was the reason behind this. He needed the boys here to figure it out before he told her.

"Hey, hey. It's going to be fine. It's done, our statement is out and right now we have no choice but to sit and wait. If we go over there with guns drawn and a full SWAT team, it won't do anything but make us look guilty of something. Let's see his reaction to the mention of legal action and go from there. Besides, look at our team. Three of NYPD's finest, the best M.E. in the city, a cop's wife and the sexiest best selling crime novelist out there. I'm sure between the six of us, we'll come up with a way of getting him back." Bringing his mouth down to hers, she gave him a kiss that buckled his knees. They stayed locked that way until they both needed some air.

"Do you think it's too late to call them and cancel? I just thought of a better way to spend the day!" He said giving her a wiggle of his eyebrows as he tried to pull her towards the bedroom.

"No way, Castle! You invited them and we're sticking to that! Besides, your mother and daughter are also stuck with us. I don't think they'd appreciate us going at it all day."

"EW! Gross guys!" Unfortunately Alexis had caught the tail end of Kate's sentence only hearing 'us going at it all day.' Remember we're stuck inside too!"

"See, Castle!" Kate whispered to him as she tried to hide her face from embarrassment. "Sorry, Lex. I was just telling your father..."

"La la la la la...I don't want to know!" Covering her ears and making her way over to the fridge, Alexis clearly wanted the conversation over.

"Hey, so the boys, Lanie and Jenny will be joining us for the rest of the day and maybe staying if they want. You ok with that?"

"That sounds fun, dad! Hey, Kate? Since Grams and I are here, and Dr. Parrish and Jenny are coming over, would you want to talk wedding stuff?" Alexis was a little hesitant to ask since Kate really never talked about the wedding, but she asked anyway.

"That actually sounds like a great idea, Lex. I can't think of a better way to keep my mind off of this." Alexis ran over towards Kate squealing in excitement and giving her a massive hug. Kate gave her a little chuckle as she watched the redhead bounce around muttering something about bridal websites, designers, cake themes and color wheels. "Someone's excited! Let's get dressed and finish getting things ready. Sound like a plan, Castle?"

"Uh, it sounds great, Beckett, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"Um, no. What could I be forgetting?"

"We haven't set a date yet."

"Oh," Oh, yeah. That. A date. The engagement and engagement party happened so fast, and there had been a few cases that came their way, they hadn't had a chance to sit and pick a date. "We should do that before we start planning, huh?"

"Yeah. I mean, we don't have to right now. You can just go over little things that you want or don't want and we'll go from there. Plus, let's get this Josh issue resolved. The last thing we need is someone finding out a date now and saying it's because of this."

"Sounds good to me," Glancing up at the clock and realizing they didn't have much time to get ready, Beckett turns and walks towards the bedroom giving Castle a sly grin. "We, uh, don't have much time, so it looks like we'll have to conserve time by showering together."

"I love it when you get...efficient."

* * *

**_Sorry, guys. No smutty shower scene from me ;-)_**

**_Josh will get his soon, but that means the story will end and I'm not sure if I want to let this end. It's my first story and I'm enjoying it way too much! _**

**_I'm also saving the major wedding planning stuff for the next story. Oops! Did I say that? Guess ill have to start working on that now..._**

**_Should I just give up now? Go running for the hills? Leave and never come back? Let me know in a review :-D_**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Special treat for everyone following this story. I've got 2 chapter updates for you tonight. Hope you enjoy! (There are a few swear words, but not enough to change the entire rating to M.) **_

* * *

Josh made sure his alarm was set for 7am. Sure he knew that being on time for his 9am meeting with Dr. Rodriguez was important, but he was a little more excited about what was coming out in the morning's paper. He got dressed and had a quick breakfast before heading downstairs to buy the morning newspaper. He thought about hailing a cab to get to the hospital, but it was such a beautiful day out and he was in a good mood, so he decided on taking his bike instead. "Morning, Anthony!" He said to the newspaper boy that always stood on his corner. "Great day, dontcha think?"

"Uh...g'mornin' Dr.D. Listen, before you walk over there..."

"Can I get the Post? There's a special article in there I'm dying to read." Josh couldn't help but smirk when he thought about the article and just how damaging it would be to Castle.

"Dr. D...your bike..."

"What about my bike?!"

"I think it was getting impounded. It was being loaded on to a flatbed when I was setting up and, uh, it may have been damaged in the process. I tried to stop them, but it was pretty fast. I was gonna ring your bell..."

"Did you see who took it?" Josh knew he didn't owe anything on it and the insurance was up to date. He was also out of the country for a while, so he knew he hadn't had any outstanding tickets on it. He began to panic trying to figure out who would take his bike. "Did the truck have a number, address, anything on it that would indicate where it was going?"

"Yeah...Um, it just said NYPD on it." The young paperboy saw the look on Josh's face change from panic to anger in a hot second. "You ok, Dr. D? Anything I could help with?"

"No, buddy. I'm good. I'll take that paper now." Thanking him for the paper, Josh turned to the street to hail a cab absolutely fuming. "Castle." He knew who was behind this and he knew exactly where he'd be heading right after his meeting . "Wrong move, buddy. Wrong fucking move."

* * *

Josh walked into the hospital with twenty minutes to spare. He was still livid over the mess with his bike this morning, but he'd deal with that later. He sat down outside Dr. Rodriguez's office and opened the paper looking for the article. He was so engrossed in it, reveling in his masterpiece, he didn't seem to notice the hospital board members walking in.

"Dr? Dr. Davidson? JOSH?!" It took a while for Linda, Dr. Rodriguez's secretary to get his attention.

"Sorry, Lin. What's up?" He stood up and walked over to her desk sitting down and began to flirt with her. "Did you miss me while I was gone?"

Not falling for his crap, she glared at him. "They're ready for you." Turning back to her computer, she blurted out, "I hope you realize just how big of a jerk you really are. What you did was wrong and I really hope you get what's coming to you."

Unable to answer her back, he was immediately called into the office. Today was not going the way he planned.

"Uh, good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to apolog..."

"Dr. Davidson, have a seat. We have some business to get down to and we don't have all day for this mess you've made." Dr. Rodriguez did all of the talking for the board. "Josh, not only did you embarrass yourself last night, now we come to find out that you've contributed to this?" Dr. Rodriguez slid the newspaper he was holding in Josh's direction. "I'll get to the point. Not only did your actions kill the project that you proposed to us, you've just essentially killed your career with this hospital. I'm sorry, Josh, but effective immediately, your privileges at this hospital no longer exist. We just can't have that kind of negative publicity brought down on us."

"You're firing me?! Over a newspaper article? This is absurd!"

A woman by the name of Emily Hilton spoke up. "Dr. Davidson, you don't know me, but I am a lawyer here at the hospital. I also happen to be a lawyer with the same firm as Jim Beckett. I'm sure you know who that is. You see, I was at the engagement party last night, so imagine my surprise this morning when I opened the paper. I was expecting to see a picture of a glowing Katie and her wonderful fiancé. Instead, I'm met with photos that border on pornography. I am not happy, doctor."

"I'm sorry...I didn't know..."

"Would it have made a difference if you did? Would you have backed off if you knew that I was on this board?"

"I...I...uh..."

"My guess is no." Turning towards Dr. Rodriguez and the rest of the board, Mrs. Hilton spoke again, "Im done here. Michael, call me if you need anything further." And with that, Emily Hilton was gone.

The rest of the board members agreed that this meeting was over and just walked out. Most of them didn't speak since Dr. Rodriguez and Ms. Hilton had taken care of everything. Josh was left alone at the table with just Dr. Rodriguez.

"I'm sorry, but this is the way things need to be, Josh. Please clean out your locker immediately." He got up and walked out after giving Josh his final instructions.

Josh sat for a minute to gather his thoughts before leaving. Somehow this was all Castle's fault and he was going to get him back. For Kate, for the project, for his bike and now his job. The next stop for Josh was the precinct. He had a feeling that the two idiot detectives were responsible for his bike being impounded, and he was going to try and press charges on Castle for harassment. He was now in full on war mode.

Linda just laughed at him as he stormed out of the office. "What a douchebag."

Josh went down to his locker to see if there was anything worth saving. Since he had only been back for a short time, he didn't have much in there. A few toiletries, some extra scrubs, socks, and underwear were all replaceable. The only thing he really wanted was the little black box. It was the ring he had bought for Kate right before she got shot. He never had a chance to give it to her then, but he was determined to give it to her now. He shoved the box in his jacket pocket, threw out the rest of the stuff and left the hospital.

"12th precinct, please." He said to the cab driver. He was out for blood. Not only was he looking to get back at Castle, he was now determined to get back at the two detectives for what they did to him last night. There's no way that people wouldn't believe him. All of that, plus the issue with his bike were just what he needed as leverage. Kate would have no choice but to talk to him. He'd get her to side with him once she hears exactly what the three of them had done to him.

* * *

As the cab pulled up to the curb, He noticed the media circus that was standing outside. "Oh now this is perfect," He said to himself with a smirk. This was exactly what he needed to turn his day around and to get stick it to Castle. He paid the driver, took out his sunglasses and put them on as he slowly got out of the cab hoping to draw attention to himself. "Look, that's the doctor!"

All at once, the cameras and reporters turned towards him bombarding him with questions and pictures as he tried to make his way to the precinct doors. "Josh, over here! Is what you said true? Do you have any more pictures of the detective? Are you guys getting back together? Where is she now? Did Castle really use her? Why are you here?"

"All I have to say is that every word in the article is true. This is one big publicity stunt for Richard Castle. That man doesn't know the definition of a real relationship. I am here to speak with the captain about events that took place last evening between myself and some of her officers. That is all I have to say for now."

Hastings and LT had been assigned to manage the media outside. They couldn't believe the crap that was coming out of Josh's mouth. They quickly ran down the stairs to grab him and escort him inside. Not because they wanted to protect him from anything, but because they didn't want him telling the press any more lies about their friends.

After getting him inside, Hastings couldn't hold back from telling him exactly what she thought of him. "You're a real dick for talking to that reporter about Beckett and Castle."

"Excuse me, Officer...Hastings," he said looking at her name badge, "But that isn't really your concern at the moment. I need to speak with the captain. Two of her officers assaulted me last night and I'd like to press charges."

"Most of the Homicide division was at the engagement party last night, so you're wasting your time coming here making up stories. The captain is in the middle of dealing with real crimes as well as trying to clean up the mess you started. What you're doing to them is wrong and you really need to back off." Hastings started getting loud on purpose to draw attention to the conversation she was having.

LT decided to join in and give him a piece of his mind as well. "Dude...you need to get out of here. No one cares what you have to say. You and your bullshit could potentially ruin a great career of an amazing detective. You have no reason to be here."

"Look. I really don't care about anything you two have to say. I need to get up to Captain Gates, so you can either continue harassing me so I can have even more of a reason to file charges against this precinct, or let me get up there to speak to the captain."

"I'd personally like to throw you on your ass on to the street and have a truck run you over, but I can't do that. I'll call the captain to see if she's available for you." LT dials the captains line. _"Hello, sir? I have a Mr. Davidson down here asking to see you...Yes sir. That's the one...Yes sir, I'll send him right up...No problem, sir."_ Turning back to Josh, giving him a nasty look, he said, "Go right on up. She's expecting you. Oh, and, uh, I hope you didn't park your bike directly out in front. It's a tow zone. Wouldn't want anything to happen to that bike of yours." LT laughed as he walked away from the front desk knowing exactly what happened to his bike.

"If you had anything to do with my bike being taken and damaged, I will have your badge. That goes for anyone in this precinct," he said while pointing at some of the other officers that had stopped to look at him. He stepped on to the elevator as some of the officers put their hands on their guns to scare him a bit. He really didn't realize that messing with Beckett and Castle wasn't his best idea.

Hastings laughed as she watched him step into the elevator. "What an asshat."

* * *

"Mr. Davidson, I presume?" Captain Gates stood at the doors to the elevator waiting for Josh to arrive. With her hands clasped behind her back, not even offering him a handshake, she turned her back to him and began to walk. "We'll head into my office to chat. Follow me, please."

"Thank you, captain." He said as he followed her around the precinct. He had only been here a few times, but he doesn't remember it ever being this quiet.

Gates decided to take him on the long walk back to her office. Just because she had agreed to speak to him didn't necessarily mean that she was on his side. Parading him around the floor and watching him fidget as every officer gave him the death stare made her a little happy. No one messes with her people and gets away with it.

"Have a seat, Mr. Davidson," Gates said pointing to a chair in front of her desk. After slamming the door shut to let him know that she meant business, she walked over to her chair and sat down. Looking him straight in the eye, then squinting a bit to get read on him, she asked, "What seems to be the issue here today? Actually, you know what? I don't care about what your issue is."

"Captain, with all due respect, two of your officers..."

Immediately cutting him off while turning on the 'Iron Gates' flare, she said, "Do you have any idea what you've done here, Mr. Davidson? You have not only opened up a can of worms for two of my best people, but you have potentially tarnished the career of my best detective. Now I don't know what kind of relationship you had with Detective Beckett or the nature of your relationship with Mr. Castle, but my precinct is no place for high school games."

"Right now, I really don't care about that. I'm here to press charges against Detective's Esposito and Ryan. They assaulted me last night in an alley behind the restaurant where the engagement press conference...I'm sorry...party, was being held and I'm pretty sure they had something to do with the impounding of my motorcycle."

"This is quite a serious accusation, Mr. Davidson. Do you have any proof? You don't look like you were in a fight last night and I haven't heard anything about a motorcycle." She lied. Well at least about the fight part. She knew exactly who was responsible for his bike being towed. Someone had made an anonymous phone call saying that there was a bike parked at a fire hydrant.

"I suggest you ask your two detectives so we can get to the bottom of this. I don't know what kind of place you run here, captain, but judging by the looks and attitudes I've gotten since coming here, I know that I'll have no choice but to take this somewhere else."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise. I've already gotten the attention of the press. Do you really want me to take this issue to them as well?" Seeing the look on the captain's face, he knew he had her attention. "I suggest you get your detectives in here. I won't be leaving here until I get what I came for."

"I'll have you know that I don't take my precinct or my people being threatened lightly. I am not calling anyone in here due to your demands. I'm doing it to get you out of my sight. Are we clear on that?"

"Perfectly."

"You may wait in the conference room."

"Thank you for your hospitality, captain." Josh gave her a nasty grin as he walked out of her office and into the conference room.

She didn't really like what she was about to do, but she knew she had no choice. Maybe there was a way to have a little fun with this though. Perhaps getting the four members of her best squad down here was exactly what she needed and, quite frankly, what they needed to make this mess go away for good. She picked up the phone and dialed.

_"Good afternoon, Detective..."_

* * *

**_And there's chapter 9 for you. I needed Dr. Dorkboy to make an appearance to move some stuff along. Reviews are helpful! _**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Aaannnnnd here's chapter 10. I jumped back to the loft here just to get some of the gang back in the story. I missed them. Some stuff may be a little OOC, but that's why they call it fanfic, right? Hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

"That's right, Eddie. Kevin and Jenny Ryan, Javier Esposito and Lanie Parrish. They're on their way over and they are the ONLY people allowed up. Anyone else requesting to be let in needs approval from myself or Detective Beckett. I don't care who they are. Thanks, buddy. I owe you one."

"So I just called Eddie downstairs. The cameras are still there, but he's asking for ID's from everyone he doesn't know looking to get into the building. Anyone looking for us has to get approved by one of us. I also left our guests names with him so they can come right up."

"You're so smart sometimes!" Kate said in a mocking way while pinching his right cheek.

"I know, right?" He giggled giving the sarcasm right back to her. It was nice to be able to still have a sense of humor with this mess going on.

* * *

"Remember, ladies, Castle said its like a zoo out there so we're not to talk to anyone on the way in. No comment is our automatic response no matter how much we want to punch these guys in the face." Espo made sure that he and Ryan walked on either side of Lanie and Jenny to shield them from the cameras and reporters as they walked up to the front of the loft. They knew they'd be met with some craziness, but they didn't expect to hear all of the shouting being made by one woman.

"Listen, buddy. I used to be married to the man and I used to live here. I don't care what instructions you think you have, but I am getting into this building and up to that loft one way or another. Check your list again. Cowell. Gina Cowell."

"Ma'am. I'm sorry, but I've been given specific instructions to follow and I'm telling you that you are not one of the people that are allowed in."

"This cannot be good." Jenny said turning to Lanie. "Should we call and let them know what's going on?"

"Let's just get upstairs and go from there. As much as I would love to smack her, that's the last thing they need right now."

Trying to make their way towards the door, Espo and Ryan flashed their badges towards Eddie who was still arguing with the woman.

"Ma'am, excuse me for a moment. I have to take care of something." Recognizing the two detectives, and nudging Gina off to the side, he called the quartet over to where he was standing. He had been instructed to ask for ID's, but he knew the group well, so he didn't bother. Plus he felt like sticking it to Gina since she was being so rude to him. He held the door open for everyone smiling and nodding as they walked in. "Right this way, folks! They're expecting you."

"Thank you, sir!" Jenny said in an enthusiastic voice, but not before giving Gina a glare and a smirk as they were walking in. Lanie saw this and decided to join in with one of her death stares as well. No one was about to mess with her best friend. Especially an ex wife of her best friend's fiancé.

Gina, finally realizing who the 4 people that were allowed in over her, immediately saw red and couldn't help but yell out towards them as they stepped on to the elevator, "You tell Richard and that woman of his that I'm not going anywhere. You hear me?" Oh, they heard her and so did a few reporters.

"Ma'am, I'm Daisy Skinner from channel 2. Do you have any info regarding Richard Castle, his fiancé and the allegations from this morning's article?"

"You know what? I do. In fact, I have a statement for everyone," All of the reporters turned towards Gina pointing their cameras and digital recorders at her. Even with the flashbulbs going off around her, she didn't blink as she spewed out her words. "Mr. Castle's judgement has been clouded by his dealings with the NYPD and his relationship with Detective Beckett for the past few years. I am not saying that the allegations in the paper are true, but I have no evidence to dispel these statements or think otherwise. I can only hope that Mr. Castle comes to his senses soon and returns to his true self. The man he was before shadowing the detective is the real Richard Castle. Hopefully this facade he's put on for everyone will end soon. Thank you."

Little did Gina know that Eddie had called Castle as soon as she began speaking to the press and he heard every word. "You get all that, Mr. C?"

_"Every last word, Eddie. You get her ass inside here now."_

"You got it, Mr. C," he said as he hung up the phone. Eddie knew exactly who Gina was. She didn't remember him, so why should he be courteous to her? She was never nice to him. In fact, none of Castle's female companions were ever nice to him. That was until the good detective came around. She treated him with respect and made sure he knew he was appreciated. Actually, the whole Castle clan did which was why he was so happy to help them out in any way he could. Since she was too busy with the reporters, he felt the only way to get her attention was to yell at her. All formalities went out the window since he didn't really like her. "Hey, Gina?"

She quickly ended things with the reporters and stomped over to the door where Eddie was standing. "Excuse me? That's Ms. Cowell to you. Don't they teach you anything in doorman school?"

"Yes, ma'am. They do. But my mother always taught me that respect is earned, not given." Not giving her a chance to respond, he continued, "Anyway, Mr. C is allowing you upstairs now." He walked away not bothering to hold the door open for her. He really, really didn't like her.

* * *

Gina stepped off the elevator and walked over to the door. She expected it to be open for her, but it wasn't. She wasn't used to being so closed off from Richard Castle's world. For the past two years, especially this last one, it was as if she didn't exist to him. She was still mad at him for ending things the way he did and she knew that it had everything to do with Kate. She lightly knocked a few times, but it was loud inside the loft. Music was blaring and there was a lot of noise. She was already frustrated, so she pounded on the door to get someone's attention. She hated being ignored. She was about to pound again when the door flung open. Expecting Richard to open the door, she immediately started walking in, but she she was met with a hand pushing her straight back out into the hallway. She had never realized just how tall Kate was before. "Does Richard know you're opening his door?"

Kate smiled. It wasn't her normal smile. It was her 'you do realize I can break you in half?' smile. "Actually, yes. Yes he does. We've been opening up each other's doors for a while now."

"We'll, I need to speak with him, so if you don't mind..." Gina tried pushing her way past Kate slightly nudging her with her shoulder, but Kate didn't move. Not liking the way she had bounced off of her, she started getting a little snarky with Kate. "Detective, this is ridiculous. He and I have things to discuss and you're standing in my way."

"Oh, Gina. I know I'm in your way. Have been for a while. Now, unless you're here to discuss official Black Pawn business, you have no purpose here. And since he's already spoken to Howard, I don't see a reason for you to be here. Goodbye." Kate turned to walk back inside, but Gina kept talking.

"You know you're just a phase, right? He'll eventually tire of you and turn his sights on someone else. That's just who he is."

Smiling at Gina again and changing into her interrogation intimidation voice, Kate said, "Funny that you're the one saying that to me. Last time I checked, I wasn't the one he broke up with for someone else. In fact, he's done it to you...Twice. Now, if you'll excuse me, MY fiancé, MY stepdaughter, MY mother-in-law and OUR friends are waiting inside OUR home. You know where the elevator is." As Kate turned to leave again, she felt a hand grab on to her hair yanking it down. "What the hell?! Let go of me, Gina!"

Kate's screams did not go unnoticed by everyone in the loft. They quickly jumped up out of their seats and headed towards the door. Castle expected to see his fiancé and ex-wife on the floor fighting it out, but things had died as quickly as they started. Kate had already gotten Gina off of her and down to the floor.

"You do realize I'm a cop and have taken down men twice my own size. Did you really think that was smart? You're lucky I don't have you hauled out of here for trespassing and assaulting a police officer. I suggest you leave. Now." Kate simply stood up giving everyone a smile and walked back inside as if nothing happened. Castle stayed outside to talk to Gina.

"What the hell were you thinking just now?!"

"Richard, she assaulted me! I'm calling the police!"

"No, Gina, you're not. Why did you come here anyway? I've already spoken to people at Black Pawn and they've assured me that they're just as upset as we are and that we still have their full support. So, tell me, what's you're real reason for being here?"

"I'm trying to see if you've come to your senses, Richard. Tell me...is she worth all of this mess?" Gina tried to touch Castle's arm in a vain attempt to flirt with him, but he took a step back quickly rejecting her advance towards him.

"You have no idea." Castle was grinning from ear to ear with that last statement. No one understood just how worth it to him Kate Beckett truly was. "You seriously don't get it, do you? You needed the glitz, glamour, lights, cameras and all that came along with being with me. Kate sees past that. You just wanted the image of Richard Castle. She wants the man that is Richard Rodgers. If I never write another book, she'll still want me. She loves my daughter, she loves my mother, she even loves vacations. She's everything you weren't. She's everything I ever needed. And if that hurts you, then I'm sorry, but you asked me if she was worth it. Those reason, and so much more are exactly why. If you can't separate **MY** personal life from our professional life, then I'll have to ask for another editor. I think we're done here." Castle just turned and walked back inside not letting Gina say a word.

She watched as the door closed right in her face, but not before she watched him smile and give Kate a look she's never seen from him before. "He never once looked at me like that." She put her head down walking towards the elevator. Before she even pressed the button, her phone began to ring. "Hi Howard. What can I do for you?"

_"Gina. My office. ASAP." *click*_

Little did anyone in the loft know that was the last time they would hear from Gina Cowell.

* * *

_**I hated Gina too, so I needed to get rid of her a$$ too. (Insert evil grin here)**_

_**Oh, and I totally stole the little exchange they have in the beginning of this chapter from the bloopers in season 3. It just seemed to fit! **_

**_¡Mandame los comentarios, por favor!_**


	12. Chapter 12

_**I lied. I had another chapter to give you guys ;-)**_

* * *

"What the heck happened out there, Kate?"

"Eh. It really wasn't a big deal." Kate walked by Lanie straight over to the fridge to grab a beer passing the poker table where Castle and the boys had already resumed their game. Jenny was sitting with Martha and Alexis in the office looking at some of Jenny's wedding photos to get some wedding ideas, so it was just Kate and Lanie left to talk about what had happened in the hallway. "One minute I was telling her to leave, the next she had a hold of my hair. I had no choice but to drop-kick her."

It was interesting to Lanie to see how laid-back Kate was being about all of this. Josh, Gina, the article, hell, even being engaged was so...not Kate Beckett. For any other person, this is a non-issue. But for Kate "I run at the first sight of anything serious" Beckett, this was not normal. Lanie felt bad for thinking so terribly of her best friend, but seeing her so calm had her worried. "Not a big deal?! Kate, you just drop-kicked your fiancé's ex wife in the hallway outside of his home, that you still haven't moved into by the way, while dealing with a huge public mess that your ex boyfriend created all while trying to plan a wedding that you still haven't picked a date for yet! Where in any of that does 'not a big deal' fit in?"

Looking at Lanie and really giving all she had said some thought, Kate did the first thing that popped into her head. She laughed. Kate simply started to laugh at her best friend. Not just a little chuckle either. She let out her signature laugh so hard that tears had started streaming down her face.

"What are you laughing at? Kate, none of this is funny!"

"No, no. You're right. It's not funny," she said trying to stifle a laugh while taking a big gulp of her beer. She paused and looked at Lanie as serious as possible before losing it again. "It's hilarious!"

Lanie had no words as she watched Kate laugh. But, as she really thought about it, everything was kinda funny. Nothing for Kate and Castle had ever been easy. And short of a few serious moments here and there, their entire relationship was pretty comical. She just looked at her best friend and started laughing right along with her. "I can't believe we're sitting here laughing about this and we're not even drunk!"

"Lanie, honestly, 4 years ago I would've run as far away from this as possible. Now? Now I can't see myself anywhere else. That's why I'm laughing. There will be plenty of times for being serious with this, I know they're coming. But for right now, with you guys here, I just need to laugh at it all. The fact that I want to laugh at it all has to mean something, right?"

"Oh, Kate," Lanie couldn't help but give her best friend a huge hug realizing just how far her friend had come from the first day they met. Pointing over at Castle who popped his head up at the sound of them laughing, "To him, it's everything. Hey, let's leave the boys alone and check out wedding stuff with Alexis, Martha and Jenny. As your Maid-of-Honor, I am commanding you to get the ball rolling on this wedding of yours. I know you weren't expecting me to do all of the work?!"

"Well I was hoping you would and all I'd have to do was just show up. Obviously I have no choice now, huh?" If she was honest with herself, she actually was looking forward to planning their wedding...not that she'd ever admit it to anyone. There were still a few things Kate Beckett wanted to keep to herself.

"You're damn right you have no choice. Katherine Beckett, I swear one of these days I will hurt you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You head back to the office, I'll be there in a minute." Lanie nodded and headed back to join the other women while Kate walked over to the boys who were seated at the dining room table talking. "Hey. You guys OK? Need anything before I head back to the office for some wedding planning?"

"No, thanks. We're good. Just trying to convince Espo here that an entire week in Vegas isn't necessary for my bachelor party."

"Espo, seriously? You really think Lanie would allow that?" Ryan started laughing and making whipping noises at him, but Kate shut him up pretty quick. "And what are you laughing at, honeymilk? Jenny would never go for that either, so you can put that whip away."

"See! Told you. Never gonna happen, guys. Besides, I'm good with just having a relaxing weekend on the beach or something. I'm done with the big flashy nights out anyway."

"Smart answer, bud. I've trained you well," Giving Castle a pat on the shoulder, she continued. "But that doesn't mean that me and the girls can't go out and enjoy ourselves in Vegas for a week." Kate winked as she walked away heading towards the office to join the other women.

* * *

"I'm telling you right now, Castle. If we ain't going to Vegas, they're certainly not going to Vegas."

"Relax, guys. They're not going to Vegas either. I was thinking that we all fly down to Puerto Rico for a long weekend. Just the 6 of us. Kate can have her own weekend if she wants, but I'm serious when I say I don't want anything big. Besides, the last time the three of us attempted doing anything bachelor party related, we ended up in Elvis costumes getting tossed out of a hotel."

"You're the one that tried to plan a bachelor party while we were investigating a murder, Castle! Can't blame us for that one." Ryan laughed as he took a sip of his beer. "Besides, we still managed to have a little fun after we solved that case. That was probably one of the greatest hangovers I've ever had."

The boys laughed a little more and tried to remember more about that night, but Castle had something a little more important to discuss. "Listen fellas. I have a question."

"Whoa man. Way to make it serious all of a sudden. What gives?"

"I still haven't told Kate about your mission last night and I'd really like to not have to unless it's absolutely necessary. But I have to ask," he was really hesitant in wanting to know the answer to his question. If he was the reason behind Josh going to the press, he knew that Kate would never forgive him or the boys. "What exactly happened with Josh last night?"

Before answering, Espo looked at the office to make sure that no one could hear their conversation. He had no problem taking the blame for Castle and Ryan if it ever came up, but he didn't want anyone finding anything out if they didn't really need to know. Seeing that they were in the clear, he began his story. Ryan threw in a few moments of his own just to complete the story. "...and then we came back to the party. We were gone 15 minutes tops."

"So I'm thinking that the guy you saw him talking to was the reporter. I wish I knew for sure, but I don't think that even knowing that would make me feel any better about this mess. Maybe if Kate would've just gone and talked to him this wouldn't be happening."

"Yeah, sure, Castle. Let your fiancé go off and talk with an ex boyfriend the night of your engagement party," Ryan saw how upset Castle was and tried to make him feel better. "Besides, who's to say that he still wouldn't have done it? You can't blame yourself for this."

"He's right, bro. The guy was a jerk from the beginning. Don't worry about it. I've got your back, both of yours, when it comes to this."

"Espo, you are not taking the blame for this on your own. I'm the one that asked you to go after him in the first place."

"Shhhhhhh," Espo tried to quiet Castle down so that the women in the office didn't hear them. "I got your back on this. The last thing you need is the press finding out that you sent us to rough him up."

"Espo's right. Let's just drop this for now. If we keep talking about this, they'll find out. You know how they like to sneak up on us. Can we go plan Madden or something now? Jenny will kill me if you guys clean me out playing poker."

"Whatever you say, table linens." The boys cleaned up the poker table and headed into the living room to play Madden to try and forget about the conversation they just had. Castle still didn't feel right for some reason, but he decided to put it to the back of his mind for the time being.

* * *

"Why are they so...pink?" Kate asked looking at a few pictures of flowers that Martha had pulled up.

"Don't worry about the color dear, look at the style! Since you and Richard haven't set a date, you can't pick out colors. Your colors are based on the season."

"Sooooooo...Kate...whenareyouanddadgoingtosetadate ?" Alexis capped off her statement by shoving a handful of popcorn in her mouth. She knew she shouldn't have asked, but it came out anyway. Can of worm opened.

"It's OK, Lex," Kate actually giggled a bit seeing how timid Alexis was. "I promise I'm not avoiding it. It's just that we really haven't had the time to actually sit and decide. If your father had his way, we'd do it tomorrow, but I don't want to do it too soon. Plus, we're not exactly living together at the moment."

"Are you guys looking to get a place of your own?" Jenny said as she joined in the conversation.

"That's just it. We still haven't discussed that much either. Everything just happened so fast with the engagement, then we had a few cases, then the party and now this, Castle and I haven't had a chance to talk things out."

"So maybe looking at wedding stuff today wasn't the best idea. I'm sorry, Kate. I guess I just wanted to take your mind off of this whole Josh thing."

"Lex, no! Don't be sorry!" Kate immediately got up to give Alexis a hug. She wanted to reassure her that she didn't say or do anything wrong. "Just because things aren't set in stone right now doesn't mean we can't look. Plus having you all here right now is making this a little easier."

"I'm glad, Kate. When Kevin and I saw that article this morning, we knew there could be some drama. We wanted to help, we just didn't know how."

"Having you guys here while we're stuck inside and having our backs in general means more than you guys could ever understand. We really do appreciate all of you." Kate felt herself get a little teary eyed as she spoke. She was never really one to show emotion, but knowing that she had amazing people in her life really brought her emotions out. "OK, this just got a little too "Steel Magnolias" for me. What do you guys say we go annoy the boys a bit?"

"I say we challenge them to a game of Guitar Hero. With all of that trash talk they do, I'm sure they would love to try and beat us."

"Ooh. Great idea, Lanie! I know exactly how to get to my dad, too!"

"Count me out, ladies. Video games aren't for me."

"Are you sure, Martha? We can find something else we can all do together."

"Nonsense, Katherine! I have some monologues to go over for my classes anyway. I'll be fine. You gals have fun and make sure to mop the floor with them!" Martha gave a wave to the women in the office and headed upstairs to her room.

Just as the 'Fab Four', as Castle aptly named them, made their way out to the living room, Beckett's cell phone rang. "It's the 12th. Should I answer it?" She said while looking at Castle. He nodded to her that it was ok to pick it up seeing that it was the precinct and it may be important. The boys paused the game so that she could put her phone on speaker for all to hear.

"Beckett."

_"Good afternoon, Detective. I hope I'm not disturbing you. Is this a bad time?"_

"No, sir. Not at all. Is there a problem? Am I in trouble for what's going on?"

Hearing the shake in Beckett's voice, Captain Gates reassured her that her call had nothing to do with One PP. _"I'm sorry, detective. I didn't mean to startle you. One PP has assured me that they will not be sending IA after you. But there is an issue down here that needs to dealt with immediately."_

"What kind of issue, sir?"

_"Mr. Davidson is here and he's insisting on pressing charges on detectives Esposito and Ryan and Mr. Castle. He's claiming they assaulted him and he's convinced he put them up to it. He's also insisting that he won't be going anywhere until he speaks to you as well."_

Kate, looking over at the three men who now look guilty as hell, gives them 'her look' as she resumes her conversation. "I'm sorry, sir, but Josh is at the precinct now? And he wants us to go in and talk to him? With all due respect, sir, but are you out of your mind?"

Gates couldn't help but laugh at her detective. _"I'm sorry, Kate. I wish I didn't have to ask you down here, but he's threatening to take this above my head until I make it happen. My hands are tied at the moment. The faster you get down here, the faster we can end this."_

"No. No you're right. Ok. We'll be down as soon as we can. Thank you, sir. See you in a bit." Kate hung up the phone turning to look at the three men who were now huddled together in the corner. "Explain. Now."

"I...uh...we...Kate...Beckett..." All three of them started babbling at the same time trying to come up with a story when Castle decided to finally come forward.

"Kate, it's my fault. I heard he was still in the restaurant, so I asked the boys to go have a chat with him. I'm sorry, please don't be mad at them. I'm the one that put them up to it."

"Castle, do you have any idea how bad this is? Do you two even realize how stupid it was to actually do it?"

"Beckett, wait..."

"Don't you Beckett me, Javier Esposito," Full name. Not good. "So this is what you were up to when we walked over to you last night? Kevin, seriously? You went along with this?"

"You know what? Yes. Yes we did! And I'd do it all again if I had to!" Not sure if it was a bright idea, Kevin decided that he was going to stick up for them. "Seriously, Beckett. The guy was waiting outside at the bar for you to come out. When Castle told us what had happened, we jumped at the chance to dress him down. You're the first one to protect us, so it was time we protected you."

There they were, looking like three lost little boys who had just gotten in trouble for taking down the playground bully, and she couldn't help but be a little proud of them. Still glaring at them and letting out a huge sigh, she turned to the three women standing behind her. "What should we do, ladies? Should we let them slide on this one?"

Lanie, Jenny and Alexis stared at the boys, then back to Kate who they noticed was now giggling a little. Almost as if they planned it, they all crossed their arms and glared back at the guys. Lanie was the first to speak. "I don't know, Beckett. This is pretty serious. They can't just walk away without any consequences. I'd say they deserve a punishment. Wouldn't you agree, ladies?" She said as she turned to Jenny and Alexis who nodded in agreement with her. "I'd say an all expenses paid spa day for all of us would suffice."

"And a shopping day. No questions asked on any purchases made." Jenny decided to throw that in at the last second.

All four women agreed as they turned to the boys who knew they had no choice but to agree.

"Fine," They said in unison. Castle was the one to ask the first question. "Are we forgiven now?

"Not even close, writer boy. Let's leave now. We're already late getting down there."

"Kate, wait. We can't just walk out, remember? The cameras? I'll have Eddie call the car service and let us know when it's here."

"Ugh. Fine, but tell him to put a rush on it. I want to get down there and see what Josh has to say for himself."

"Do you want us to go with you?"

"No, Lanie. Definitely not. You guys stay here and try to relax. Hopefully it won't take too long and we'll be back by dinner."

Hearing a knock at the door, Alexis stood up to answer it. "Kate? Guys? Eddie says the car is here!"

As she grabbed her bag, she couldn't help but recall a sentence she'd used before. Wanting to keep teasing him just a bit more, she said, "Button up, kitten. We're heading to the precinct. Let's go, boys."

And with that, they headed out of the loft and down to the precinct to face Josh once and for all.

* * *

**_I've come to the conclusion that reading and writing fanfics is an amazing cure for insomnia. Wait? Did I say cure? I meant cause. _**

**_In case I haven't mentioned it in a while, you guys rock my socks for following, favoriting, and reviewing. Muchas gracias a todos ;-) _**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Blame the last week of camp (I'm the sports director) and the start of volleyball season (I'm a college coach) all in the same week for this delay. I don't think I've ever been so exhausted.**_

_**Oh! To the guest reviewers that I can't thank individually, you are all amazing! Sending a giant virtual hug to you for your kind words!**_

_**I know everyone is waiting patiently for Josh's butt kicking scene. Sorry, but you'll have to wait just a little longer ;-) {insert evil laugh here}**_

* * *

Castle, Beckett, Esposito and Ryan headed to the elevator to make their way down to the car. The boys already knew what was waiting for them outside, but Castle and Beckett didn't really know how bad it was. Since Eddie had been standing downstairs since it all began, he felt it was his duty to inform them how crazy it was. "I gotta warn ya, Mr. C. It's still nuts out there. Apparently the reporters that were at Ms. B's apartment realized she wasn't there and headed straight here. I tried getting them to leave, but they're not budging."

"Thanks for the warning, Eddie. Unfortunately I'm already used to the invasion of privacy from these guys."

Kate had thought about wearing sunglasses and a hat to hide, but that would've made her look guilty. She opted to just walk out with her head held high making an attempt to ignore the press. She could do it...right? It took them a second to actually leave the elevator when it reached the ground floor. They waited for Eddie to clear a path to the car, and as her stomach dropped at the sight of everyone standing out there, Kate was now rethinking her decision to not hide from the paparazzi.

"You ready?" Castle grabbed Kate's hand tightly before walking out ahead of her. Kate simply nodded her head and squeezed his hand before walking out. Castle said he would walk in front leaving Espo and Ryan to walk on either side of Kate. He didn't really care about anyone touching him, but he would make damn sure that no one would lay a hand on Kate to get her attention. The second they left the building, the flashbulbs, cameras, questions and shouting all began.

_"Detective, any response to the allegations? Are you calling off the engagement? Did you pose for those pictures? Is the NYPD pressing charges against the doctor? Is this really all a publicity stunt? Do you actually love each other? Is anything he said true?"_

"We have no comments at this time. Please direct all questions to my publicist, Paula Haas. She has all the answers you need." That was all Castle said as he ushered Kate ahead of him into the car. Giving the driver the instructions, they left the front of the loft and headed to the precinct.

* * *

"I don't know how you're used to that, Castle. They're like vultures out there." Noticing that Beckett hadn't said a word since they left the loft and had been staring out of the window since getting in the car, Ryan turned to her trying to get her attention. "Hey. Earth to Beckett. You OK?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, Ryan. I'm fine. Thanks." She was not fine. She didn't even move as she answered his question. She was actually starting to feel a little overwhelmed. Maybe trying to keep calm throughout all of this wasn't the best idea. She was starting to feel as if she was going to lose it very soon. Breathe, Kate. Just breathe...

Castle could see how tense she was. They hadn't said a word to each other since leaving the loft, but he knew something was going on in her head. The boys were having their own conversation about paparazzi, press, and constantly being in the spotlight, but his focus was just on Kate. She had let go of his hand the second they sat in the car and closed herself off to everyone just keeping her gaze on whatever was outside as they drove through the streets of Manhattan. In a matter of a few minutes, her whole demeanor had changed and, quite frankly, he was worried.

As they turned down the block to the precinct, Espo was the first one to see the media circus waiting outside. "This looks just as bad guys. I guess this wasn't the best time to repave the garage. Right, Beckett?" Nothing. Not a single word from her.

Ryan called ahead letting Hastings know they were up the block. The precinct had set up barricades on the sidewalk leaving a path straight to the door. At least this crowd was a little more under control unlike the one at the loft.

* * *

"You ready for round two, Kate? Just say the word and we'll go right back home." All she did was nod her head barely acknowledging what he said and that they had arrived at the precinct. The moment they stepped out of the car, the flashbulbs were going off, cameras were being pointed at them and reporters shouted their questions. Walking in the same formation they had when they left the loft, they headed straight for the door.

_"Are you here to confront the doctor? Are you and Castle calling it quits? Why is this going on now? Are you getting fired? Why haven't you set a date yet? Will this delay the wedding? Any more exes waiting to pop out?"_

"We have no comments at this time. Please direct all questions to my publicist, Paula Haas. She has all the answers you need." Obviously this was Castle's standard response to everything. It was just easier this way.

As they walked into the building, Kate felt a wave of panic wash over her. She tried taking some deep breaths to calm herself down, but it wasn't working. She heard people talking and mumbling around her and she knew people were trying to get her attention, but she couldn't focus on them. She couldn't do it because she was already lost. The calm she had been feeling earlier was gone and all she wanted to do was scream and run as far away as possible. Badass Beckett was a joke and she knew it. Seeing an exit door that she knew lead to a staircase to the garage, she thought of one thing and one thing only. Run.

"Beckett! Kate?!" Castle tried getting her attention by calling her name, but she ignored him. Unlike the last time she ran from him during a panic attack, he went after her leaving the boys behind. This time was different. This time it was about them, not only her and he wasn't going to let her push him away or face this alone. He got to her just as she was about to head down the stairs. He reached out to grab her hand and bring her back to him, but she snapped and flung her arm around knocking him back as she spun around.

* * *

"Dammit, Castle, leave me alone!" She didn't mean to yell at him. She didn't mean to push him away as hard as she did, but she couldn't control herself anymore. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...I just...I just need a minute. I feel like...I'm suffocating...the walls...closing in around me." Gasping for air, she tried to get as much of an explanation out to him, but she couldn't. "I can't...breathe, Castle. I just can't...I can't...breathe..." And as she began to collapse to the floor, Kate Beckett finally broke down.

"Kate!" Castle reacted quickly and was able to catch her right before she hit the floor. Holding her as tight as he could, he eased them down to the floor using the wall for support. "I've got you, Kate," he said gently stroking her hair to try and calm her down, but it wasn't working. She was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably and he felt helpless at that moment. This was scaring him and he didn't know what to do. "I'm here. Do you hear me, Kate? I'm right here."

It took some time, but hearing his words and feeling his touch was all she needed to bring herself back. The crying and shaking were finally under control and she was finding it easier to breathe. "Rick," she whispered as she looked up finding that shade of blue in his eyes that made all of the pain and hurt go away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break down. I guess I couldn't handle it anymore."

"Hey, hey. Don't apologize. I should've known something wasn't right," he said while hugging her and placing a kiss to the top of her head. "This isn't right. Let's just go back to the loft. We have nothing to prove to him."

"No, Castle. We need to do this. I need to do this. I promise I can do this."

Castle hesitated to believe her. Not five minutes ago she was breaking down and collapsing in his arms from a massive panic attack, and now she was saying she was OK. Looking into her eyes, he saw the confidence and strength he hadn't seen before. Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and wiping away the last remnants of tears that had spilled from her eyes, he pressed his forehead to hers before standing them up again. She was ready and he knew it. "Ok. Let's go."

* * *

The boys were long gone, probably headed upstairs to get their side of the story sorted out, so they headed back out into the precinct to wait for the elevator. Things were a little calmer from when they had first entered, and the lack of commotion helped Beckett refocus on what she needed to do. Before she did that, she needed to make sure she looked presentable. "I'm going to freshen up a bit. I can't go in there looking like this. If he thinks he's broken me, it'll give him an upper hand and that can't happen. Will you wait for me outside of the locker room?"

"Of course," he said before pressing his lips to hers before letting go of her hand. "We do this together."

Castle leaned up against the wall as he waited for Beckett to come out of the locker room. He was still a little worried about her, but all of that went right out the door when he saw her walking towards him. He had absolutely no words for her. All he could do was stand there and stare with his mouth wide open. If this was her idea of freshening up...

She had changed everything about her hair and makeup. She had made her eyes look darker with the smokey way she had reapplied her makeup and she had taken her hair out of the ponytail letting her chestnut curls fall perfectly around her face. If she was going to war, she was going to look damn good doing it. "Trying to catch flies, Castle? C'mon. Let's head over to the conference room and get this over with."

They walked hand in hand into the bullpen, stopping at her desk to drop of their belongings. Out of the corner of his eye, Castle saw Josh look up in their direction. Giving him a giant smirk, purposely trying to get him all riled up, Castle came up with a plan. "I'd so hate to be Josh right now." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" She knew exactly what he was up to and decided to play right along with him. Knowing Josh was watching their every move, she couldn't help but bite her bottom lip as she gave Castle the most seductive look she possibly could.

"Because he has to sit there and watch me do this." He grabbed her and pulled her in for a kiss that came pretty close to what was on page 105 of Heat Wave. Making a popping sound as their lips separated, Castle leaned his forehead into hers. "You ready?"

"You have no idea." she said grabbing his hand and headed towards the conference room.

* * *

Captain Gates had watched the whole exchange between Castle and Beckett from the confines of her office. She couldn't help but laugh as she thought to herself, _"Screw plausible deniability. You go, Detective!"_

* * *

**_Just a few more to go! I promise!_**

**_Thanks for being patient :-)_**


	14. Chapter 14

_**I'd like to say that I was kidnapped by aliens, hence the major delay in getting this out, but that would be a lie. That thing called life totally got in my way this week. Blah. Blah to real life! **_

_**Oh, and there's a little strong language in here, but I don't think it's enough to change the rating to 'M'. If anyone is uncomfortable, I'll change it. **_

_**Enjoy, wonderful readers! **_

* * *

At the request of Captain Gates, Espo and Ryan had been sitting at their desks making sure they were close by just in case their friends needed them. She had a feeling things may get a little...interesting. As Castle and Beckett walked into the conference room hand in hand, Josh stood up giving an extremely sarcastic applause for the display they had just put on outside.

"Cute little show there, Castle. You almost had me convinced. Tell me, how many cameras do you have out there waiting for you?"

"Watch it, Josh. There's no reason to be a jerk. Oh, wait. You already are!"Castle said letting out a sarcastic chuckle.

Much to Josh's dismay, he saw Kate nod and give a little giggle at Castle's comment clearly not caring at how mad he got. What he did was wrong and she was going to make him miserable for it. "You know, Josh. The only one here that's put on a show has been you. The article, the little press conference outside of the precinct and the little threat you made at Captain Gates. I didn't think telling lies and throwing temper tantrums was your style."

"What lies, Kate? Everything I said in that article was true and you know it! Look, Kate. We really should talk," he said all while taking a few steps towards Kate while reaching his hand out. When she didn't take it, he forcefully grabbed her hand trying to pull her away from Castle. "Come with me, Kate. Let's go somewhere private."

Castle's reacted quickly by pulling Kate behind him and giving Josh a shove. "Take your hand off of her!" He knew that she could handle herself, but there was no way he was going to let Josh lay a hand on her. "Apologize to her. Now."

"Oh so now you want to be a tough-guy, huh? Unlike yesterday when you sent your groupies after me. You're pathetic, Castle. You know that?"

"No, Josh. The only pathetic one here is you! And if you touch me one more time, I'll make sure that you'll never be able to use your hand ever again. Do I make myself clear?"

"I'm sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to disrespect you. I just want to talk to you...alone. You owe me that."

"She owes you nothing, Josh. Especially after what you've pulled."

Snapping his head and taking a few steps back in Castle's direction, Josh raised his voice at him. "For once, Castle, just stay the hell out of this! This is between me and Kate. If it weren't for you, she and I would be together right now."

"No, Josh. We wouldn't," Kate said as she smirked and emphatically shook her head no. "You need to sit and listen to what I'm about to say to you. And if you interrupt me, you'll be spending the rest of your day in a holding cell handcuffed to a transvestite hooker named Candace. Do I make myself clear?"

All Josh could do was nod his head as he sat back down. Castle also decided to sit so he could watch his fiancée work her magic. She was brilliant in an interrogation, so he knew she would be just as fantastic here. He tried really hard not to grin and laugh at the miserable look on Josh's face, but he couldn't help it. He really was going to enjoy every moment of whatever Kate was about to throw at Josh.

"Good. First off. Rick stays. Yes, Josh. I call him Rick sometimes because that's his name and I enjoy calling my fiancé by his name." Seeing the look of disdain on Josh's face as Kate called Castle her fiancé, she kept going pouring more salt on Josh's open wounds. "Whether you choose to believe it or not, Rick and I are actually are engaged. No publicity stunt, no blackmail of any kind or any other wild story you concoct in your brain. We love each other. We're in love with each other. Unlike the lie you told to that sleazy reporter of our engagement. I cannot even believe you said that! What the hell were you thinking? In fact, what the hell were you thinking during any of this?"

Josh had made an attempt to speak, but the glare he got from Kate shut him up rather quickly.

"Don't even think about it. Nothing you say right now will get you out of this, so just keep your mouth shut," Kate said as she pointed straight at him. She was pacing. She hadn't sat down once since walking into the conference room. The strong, slow click of her heels as she paced around the room acted as a metronome to a rhythm that was all her own. A rhythm that said that she was the one in control and Josh knew it.

"You just said that you didn't mean to disrespect me, but what you did, what you're doing is disrespecting me. It's disrespecting us." Kate motioned between her and Castle before walking over to stand at his side. She placed her left hand on Castle's shoulder in a way that her engagement ring was clearly visible. This was her way of showing Josh that she was not in the mood to play games and that she was serious. Castle being Castle couldn't help but adjust the ring making it straighter and so it caught the light in just the right way. Oh, Castle.

Kate continued with her dressing down of Josh. "This article, those pictures, everything you said, all the lies you told was disrespectful. Did you really think that I'd go crawling back to you after that? Two years is a long time Josh, and a lot has changed. I've changed. You and I? I'm sorry, but we never stood a chance."

Josh couldn't help but interrupt her right there. "How could you even say that?! You didn't even bother giving us a chance! You were so wrapped up in your own pathetic little world, you couldn't even be bothered to see the kind of man I was for you. I was ready, Kate. I even bought you this," Josh said pulling out and opening the black velvet box to show her the ring he bought. "I got it right before I was leaving for Haiti. Right before you got shot and I had to save you."

"Josh," She knew she was about to break his heart for good with this confession. "I would've said no."

"What do you mean you would've said no?" Josh stood up a the chair violently slid behind him. He was clearly not happy with her response.

"There was no way I could've married you, or anyone else because..." Kate paused to look down and smile at Castle as she stroked the back of his hair. She thought about how things were back then. She knew that she was in love with Castle no mater how hard she had tried to fight it. She hated needing the extra year, but it brought her...them...to where they are now. The place where saying 'I love you' was easy. The place where admitting to anyone that would listen that she was in love with him was as easy as taking a breath. She couldn't help but smile as she said her next sentence. "Because I was already in love with someone else."

"So you were cheating on me with him! I knew you kept secrets, Kate. But I never pegged you for a cheating whore."

Josh had barely blinked before Castle was out of his chair charging towards him. "You jackass!" exclaimed Castle loud enough to get everyone's attention. With one swing of his arm, Josh was down on the floor With Castle now on top pounding his fists into him. "Screw you, Josh!"

"Rick, no!" Kate's screams as she tried to get him off of Josh. "Dammit, Castle! STOP!"

Ryan, Espo and Captain Gates soon came running into the room to see what all the commotion was about and realized they needed to help Kate. It took both of the boys to finally get Castle off of Josh. He was a lot stronger than they had anticipated. After finally getting Castle off of Josh before inflicting any more damage to his face, they dragged him to the other side of the room to try and calm him down, but it wasn't working. He was fighting their every move. It wasn't until Javi himself had pushed Castle back a little that he finally got his attention. "What the hell, bro?"

"Dammit, Espo! Let me go! He called her a whore! Let me go!"

Kate, Espo and Ryan were now all standing with Castle on the other side of the room glaring at Josh as they heard what he had just said. Gates was standing in the middle of the room just in case either man tried charging each other and Josh was still on his side, holding the bloody nose that no one seems to be caring about.

"I want him arrested for assault! I was attacked and there are plenty of witnesses! Captain, if you know what's good for you, you'll arrest him..."

"Sit down, Mr. Davidson!" Gates yelled to try and get him to stop talking.

"Dammit, it's doctor! Doctor Davidson!"

"I know exactly who you are, Mister Davidson," she said making sure to emphasize the 'mister'. "And quite frankly, I don't care. As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Castle was merely defending himself against the media attack you started and you'll be hard pressed to find anyone in this building that will say other wise. If I'm going to be arresting anyone here today, it's going to be you for giving out false information, the distribution of photos without consent and for getting on my damn nerves. Now I suggest you walk over to the men's room and take care of that nose before you get blood all over my floors." She obviously didn't care about Josh and his request for Castle's arrest. She had just turned and walked away as if nothing had happened. Victoria Gates wasn't named 'Iron Gates' for nothing.

"You're not getting away with this, Castle! This is far from over. I'll be back to finish this."

With Josh temporarily out of the room, it gave the boys a chance to release their hold on Castle. Kate had walked out to get Castle an ice pack and a bottle of water. "Dude," said Ryan. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that no one should ever call another man's fiancée a whore out of spite and be allowed to get away with it," Castle said as he got up and paced around the room for a bit before stopping with his back to the boys. As he stared out of the window, he couldn't help but feel that this was all his fault and he was starting to realize just how mad he was at the entire situation. "I know I shouldn't have done it, but I snapped. Watching her break down before coming in here, knowing I caused it, then hearing him call her that, I just...lost it."

"Castle...Rick. This isn't your fault," said Kate as she came back into the room hearing his confession to the boys. Looking over at Espo and Ryan, she gave them the 'everything is fine you can go now' look. They smiled, nodded and just walked away giving her the 'we'll be right over there' look. It still amazed her just how well they all knew each other and had each other's backs. Walking over to him, she put the ice pack on his hand and looked straight into his eyes trying to get him out of whatever hole he was putting himself into. "I promise you, none of this is your fault."

"Isn't it? Kate, I..."

"Hey...look at me!" Kate had dropped the ice pack so she could grab both of his hands pulling them into her chest. "This is on him. He chose to be a complete jerk yesterday. He chose to lie in that article. He chose to come here today making ridiculous accusations. As far as I'm concerned, it's his fault." Kate briefly paused before continuing. "Now you're not going to like what I have to say next, but just listen to me, OK?" Castle nodded in agreement as he listened to Kate. "I need to talk to him...alone."

"Absolutely not, Kate! I am not leaving you alone in a room with him!"

"Castle, please. It will be easier this way. Plus I can't have you going all Chuck Norris on him again."

Castle couldn't help but give Beckett a little chuckle and a smile. "I really don't like the idea of you being in here alone with him, but I'm guessing I have no choice?"

"No, Chuck. You don't. Just sit with the boys, ice that hand and take some time to cool off. I promise I'll be ok," she said while wrapping her arms around his neck drawing him in for a long, slow kiss. She wasn't on duty and she really didn't care. This was one of those moments that she needed to feel his lips on hers.

Unfortunately their moment was ruined when Josh cleared his throat signaling his return to the room. "Still trying to prove you're a man, Castle?"

"Just shut up and sit down, Josh," Beckett said as she rolled her eyes at him. "Stop being a jackass for once."

Castle had turned her back around grabbing her face in his palms. Leaning down he whispered, "Are you sure you're going to be ok being alone with him?"

"I'll be fine, Rick. I promise I'll yell if I need you," she said while stroking his cheek and giving him another deep kiss. "Now, go. The faster I get this over with, the faster we can go home."

Castle smiled as he squeezed her hand one last time before turning to leave. Making sure she timed her words perfectly, Kate waited until Castle was practically standing next to Josh before calling out his name again.

"Rick..."

Castle stopped and turned as he heard his name.

"I love you."

Unlike the last time when they had a similar situation with him leaving her alone in a room, Kate had no tears in her eyes. All Castle saw was that gorgeous smile letting him know that she was going to be ok. "I love you too," he said smiling right back at her, closing the door behind him as he walked out of the room leaving Kate alone with Josh.

* * *

_**And Chapter 15 is being written as we speak! Um...I mean as you read ;-)**_


	15. Chapter 15

_***sniff sniff* Here we are, folks. The Last chapter :-( I cannot even begin to thank you all enough for joining me for this journey I've been on! This was my very first venture into the writing side of the fanfic world, and each and every one of you have made it an amazing experience!**_

**_As sad as I am to see this story end, I can tell you that you've given me the confidence I need to give some of the other stories swimming around my brain a chance! _**

**_Thank you for being so amazing! I really to appreciate each and every one of you :-)_**

**_Here we go...one last time..._**

* * *

As soon as Castle walked out, Josh immediately tried making his way over to Kate, but she made sure that he got nowhere near her. "Don't even think of coming near me, Josh."

"It's OK, Kate. He's gone. You don't have to pretend anymore," He said as he took a few more steps towards her. "I know you miss me. I know you want to come back to me. I forgive you, Kate."

"Oh, God. You really believe that, don't you? This is the last time I'm going to explain this to you. I am in love with and engaged to Richard Castle, not you. I don't miss you. I didn't even miss you when we were together. You need to realize that you were nothing but a placeholder in my life. You weren't the man for me then and you most certainly aren't the man for me now!"

"Kate how can you say these things to me? I love you!"

"Love me? Josh, you nearly ruined my engagement party! You lied to a tabloid reporter to give an exposé on my relationship, which you know absolutely nothing about since you haven't been here in two years! You shared private information about moments in my life that you had no business doing and you had pictures of me that I never knew about! Which, by the way, may result in the loss of my career! So please explain to me how that equates to loving someone?"

"You left me no choice! I needed to expose Castle for the fraud that he is!"

"I left you no choice?! Wrong, Josh. You had a choice and you made the wrong one. Tell me the truth...when did you take those pictures because you know damn well I knew nothing about them! Do you have any idea how violated I feel? My dad, my step-daughter, my mother-in-law, my family, my friends, my colleagues and most of New York City have seen those photos. Did you even stop to think how I would feel? Did you?! Or were you so self absorbed in your own little game of revenge that it didn't occur to you?"

Josh hesitated a moment before answering trying to process all that Kate had just said. "I'm sorry, Kate. I never..."

"The pictures. When the hell did you take the pictures?" She said interrupting him.

Josh sighed when he realized that she had no intention on letting the picture issue go. "The night you came back from the cabin when you called to tell me to pick up the rest of my stuff. I thought you called to get back together, so I rushed right over. When I saw the bottle of wine, I thought you wanted to be together again. I tried kissing you, touching you, doing anything I could to get you into bed, but all you did was say his name over and over again. And that's when I realized that I was never going to win. I was so angry. As you drifted off to sleep, I noticed your gun, badge and hat on your dresser, so I undressed you and posed you with everything. That's when I took the pictures."

Hearing Josh's confession, Kate had felt even more violated than before. She had a feeling that's how things had gone down, but hearing the words come out of his mouth made her feel physically ill. Crossing her arms in a self hugging motion, almost as if she were trying to cover herself up, she glared at Josh. "How the hell could you do that to me, Josh? I can't even look at you right now. You make me sick." Kate had turned her back to Josh to gather her thoughts on what to say and do next. She was also trying not to break down and cry in front of him. He was not going to get to her. Not this way.

With Kate lost in her thoughts, Josh took the opportunity to walk up behind her. Making one last bold move to get her, he grabbed her left hand making a vain attempt to pull of her engagement ring. "Kate, please. Let's just put this all behind us and move on. Together. Me and you."

She had swung her arm around so fast and so hard, she ended up backhanding him and having her ring scrape across his face in the process. Oh the irony. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! Get your hands off of me!"

"OW! My face! What the hell, Kate?!"

"Screw your face and screw you! You are nothing but a lying, sneaking, evil jerk and I want absolutely nothing to do with you!" With Josh still writhing around complaining about his face, Kate walked over to the door to call Espo and Ryan back in the conference room. Castle had stood up to follow them, but she made the motion for him to sit back down. Captain Gates had also been standing at Ryan's desk waiting to see what was going on in the conference room. "Arrest him," she told them with a great big smirk on her face. "He just assaulted me."

"Gladly, Detective Beckett," Ryan said with a smile as Espo literally slapped the cuffs on him making sure they were on as tight as possible. "Josh Davidson. You are under arrest for assaulting a police officer, the distribution of photos without consent, and for being an all around lying dirt bag. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one can be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you you disgusting sack of garbage?"

"C'mon, Kate! Please don't do this! We can work something out! I'll say or do anything! Anything you want!"

"HA! I'm pretty sure you've already said and done enough! Get him out of my sight."

Castle came running over as the boys were hauling Josh out of the room. "No, wait! I know exactly what he could do!" Grinning from ear to ear, Castle looked over at Josh and said, "Ever hear of a retraction, motorcycle boy?"

Everyone looked at Castle knowing exactly what he was gearing towards. "Hmmm. You may be on to something, Castle. Captain? Would you be OK with this?" asked Beckett?"

"As long as you're OK with it, Detective, I don't see an issue with it. Oh, and, Mister Davidson? If you don't adhere to any of the rules given, I'll make sure your pretty-boy face ends up in a cell with some of the worst and largest offenders in New York City. I know a few criminals that would love a pretty face like yours. Am I understood?"

"Fine."

"Good. And don't you ever, ever threaten me or any of my people again. I will be watching you. Have a lovely day!" Smiling and winking at Josh, she walked back to the confines of her office. Ryan could swear he heard her laugh as she closed the door.

"Now about that retraction. Here's the way it's going to work," Beckett said as they all went back into the conference room. "Castle is going to write it for you. You're not going to argue with anything that's written and you're going to sign it. Copies will be given to every newspaper, every tabloid and any other media outlet we can think of to make sure that everyone knows you're a liar. Do we make ourselves clear?" Beckett had grabbed Castle's hand as she explained everything. She was going to make sure, for the last time, that Josh had no place in her life and that Castle was the only man for her.

"Whatever, Kate. Just get these damn handcuffs off of me before they do any damage to my hands."

Espo, Ryan, Castle and Beckett all looked at each other then back at Josh. At the same time, they all shook their heads and said, "Naaah."

* * *

Castle was just about done putting the finishing touches on the retraction article. Espo and Ryan had gone to call Lanie and Jenny to give them an update on what was going on and to let them know that they'd be leaving soon. The statements that Rick and Kate had given to Paula that morning had already gone out, so the media presence wasn't as strong as it had been. They agreed that if there were any reporters remaining outside, Josh would be the one to hand them the retraction.

After signing what Rick had typed up, Josh stood up to make his way out. He couldn't help but see Kate and Castle standing at her desk gathering their belongings and overhearing their conversation. He couldn't help but stare at her and the way she looked up into Castle's eyes. 'She never looked at me that way,' he thought to himself. He made his way over to the men's room making sure he didn't look as if he'd just gotten his ass kicked. Hopefully this would avoid them all walking out together as well.

"Ready to head home?" Castle said as he helped Kate into her jacket.

"Absolutely," she said as she gave him a kiss on the lips zipping up his jacket for him. "Hey Espo, Ryan? You guys ready?"

"Ready!" They both said as they grabbed their stuff.

The four of them made their way downstairs where they waited for the car that Castle had called to take them back to the loft. Luckily for them, the press had gone away, so they waited outside since it was a nice night and they had been cooped up inside all day. Standing together, they couldn't help but talk about the events of the past few days. As they stood their laughing and joking, they hadn't notice Josh come out of the precinct.

* * *

As he walked to the sidewalk to hail a cab, he stopped and turned to catch a glimpse of her one last time. Seeing her in Castle's arms, giving Castle, and only Castle, that 1000-watt smile really hurt, so he quickly turned to make his way down the street trying to get away from her...them...once and for all. But that's when he heard it. That laugh. Her laugh. Kate's laugh. The one that was never meant for him. As their car pulled up, Josh couldn't help but let out a "Goodbye, Kate." He knew he had said it loud enough for her to hear, but she never once took her eyes off of Castle. As she sat in the car, he heard it for the last time.

_That laugh. Her laugh. Kate's laugh..._

* * *

_**Epilogue? I think so... ;-)**_


	16. Chapter 16 - Epilogue

After returning to the loft, Castle, Beckett, Espo, Lanie, Ryan and Jenny had a little party to celebrate the day being over. Since the press was no longer and issue, Martha had gone out with friends, and Alexis made her way back to the dorms. The six friends ate, drank, danced, sang, laughed, until the early hours of the morning.

Kate, being the early riser she was no matter what she had been doing the night before, couldn't help but wonder if the morning paper had arrived. Trying not to wake Castle, she tiptoed her way out of the bedroom and to the front door. Seeing that the paper had indeed arrived, she picked it up making her way back to the bedroom. Slowly turning the pages, Kate was surprised to see not one article, but two with her and Castle's names on it. With the chaos of everything from the previous day, they had forgotten all about the official engagement announcement. She decided to read the retraction first:

* * *

_Doctor Retracts Earlier Statement_

_New York - In a surprising twist, Doctor Josh Davidson has issued a retraction statement regarding the article that he had contributed to regarding the relationship of writer, Rick Castle and Detective Kate Beckett._

_"I would like to extend my sincere apologies to my former girlfriend, Kate Beckett for the heinous article that came out earlier. The statements that I made were completely false and I was merely acting out in a jealous manner. Kate and I were never engaged. In fact, her current engagement has been her only engagement. _

_I would also like to extend my deepest apologies to her fiancé, Rick Castle, as well. I falsely accused him of purposely using his connections with the Mayor and his working with the NYPD to drive a wedge between Kate and myself. I also accused him of using Kate as a vehicle to sell more books. This is not the case._

_I have seen the nature of their relationship up close and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are one-hundred percent completely in love and absolutely committed to each other. I wish them nothing but the best on their marriage and their future together. They are an amazing couple and deserve all the happiness that the world has to offer them._

_I'd also like to apologize for the photos that were used. Detective Beckett has never posed in such a way that would disgrace her badge. Those photos were completely photoshopped and edited in a way to make it look like she had posed for them. I promise you that she had absolutely nothing to do with them and I am prepared to face the consequences of my actions. _

_I apologize to their families, friends, and colleagues for my despicable act fueled by my jealousy. You can rest assured that I will no longer be an issue in their lives."_

_Thank You._

* * *

Kate giggled a little knowing that Josh would have to live with these words every day for the rest of his life. Even if they weren't his own. The best part of that was that he wasn't allowed to tell a soul that he wasn't the one that wrote it. The signed affidavit on file at the precinct guarantees that. Feeling satisfied with the outcome of the retraction, she couldn't help but get even more excited about the engagement announcement. She never really liked the idea of her life being splayed out on page 6, but she was a little giddy over this one. Of course, shed never actually admit that to anyone.

Flipping the page, she was greeted by a magnificent photo that had been taken of the two of them as they danced. They had the entire floor to themselves causing the lights to reflect in a way that made it look as if they were floating on air. Kate couldn't help but smile as she ran her hand over the photo. Finally taking her eyes off of the photo, she began to read the article:

* * *

_Romance 'Heats' up for this Castle - Writer and Muse Set to Marry_

_New York - Writer Richard Castle, 44, and NYPD Detective Katherine Beckett, 33, announced their engagement earlier this week. Even though the couple officially started dating last year, there has always been speculation that they have been romantically linked since the writer started shadowing the detective over five years ago. The detective happens to be the inspiration behind the Nikki Heat series. This will be the third marriage for the writer and first for the detective._

_We were part of an exclusive group of reporters that were allowed in to the lavish engagement party where the official announcement was made. While no details of the actual wedding was given, we did gain a little insight as to the nature of their relationship and how supportive those around them seem to be. According to their close friends and family, the pair had tried extremely hard to to fight off any budding relationship for years, but the attraction and chemistry had been undeniable. Some called it love, others called it lust, but what they all agreed on was that the friendship and mutual respect between these two is what makes them strong. _

_Although a date hasn't been set yet, the Detective did confirm that it wouldn't be too long of an engagement. "We've waited long enough, don't you think?" She told us as she stood next to her writer. Nodding in agreement was Mr. Castle who couldn't seem to take his eyes, or hands, off of his gorgeous fiancée. "Whatever Kate decides, is what we'll do. I'll wait forever if I have to. Just tell me when and where to show up, and I'll be there!" _

_One thing's for sure. This couple is ridiculously and nauseatingly in love with each other! Any rumors of publicity stunts and old flames trying to get in the way are just that. Rumors. _

_Continue to look for updates on this amazing couple! The second we get any info, you'll be sure to hear it here first!_

* * *

Putting the paper down, Kate immediately grabbed the calendar that Castle made for her. It was just a bunch of pictures that had been taken of them over the past few years. Castle had left picking a date up to her. Just like he had told the reporter, he told her, 'Just tell me when and where to show up and I'll be there.' God how she loved this man. With the events of the past few days, Kate didn't want to wait any longer. Picking a date was harder than she thought. Does she make it significant to her? To them? Does she pick a random day that has no meaning so that this date could stand alone? She needed help, so she thought of only one thing to do. She woke him up. Leaning down just so that her lip hovered above his ear, she whispered, "I want to set a date, Castle."

He stirred a bit at the sound of her voice, but he still wasn't awake. She tried again. "Castle...wake up...I want to set a date." This time she pecked his cheek with a few kisses to see if she could get him up.

"Checkmate? When did we start playing chess?" he mumbled as he rolled over to face her still clearly half asleep not comprehending what she was saying.

Giving him a little playful slap on his chest, Beckett was starting to get a little impatient. "No, Castle! Set a date! Not checkmate! Can you just wake up?"

"Ok, ok I'm up! So were not playing chess right now? But you want to set a date to play chess? Beckett, I'm either really exhausted or you're starting to lose your mind."

"Geez, Castle, can you just look at me and focus? I promise you can go back to sleep after we do this. Now, listen. I. Want. To. Set. A. Date. For. Our. Wedding. Now."

Sitting up and grinning from ear to ear, he finally understood what she was saying. "Then let's set a date for our wedding."

Flipping to a certain date, Beckett said, "How about this one? It will be close, but do you think we can pull it off?"

"If this is the date you want, then I'll make sure everything gets done in time. Now, am I still asleep, or did you say something about taking things off...?"

"Castle, seriously?"

"What? Can't a man celebrate setting a date for his wedding to the most beautifully extraordinary women on the planet?"

"Well, when you put it that way," Kate said as she leaned in for a slow passionate kiss. Right before things got heated, she pulled away giving him a huge grin as she said, "I can't believe we're getting married on..."

* * *

**_Yeah, I did that ;-) _**

**_Stay tuned for the wedding planning story coming to a fanfic near you! _**


End file.
